Holiday Health Maintenance Plan

Okay, 6 days until Thanksgiving and 5 weeks until Christmas and 9 weeks until the New Year! Time is flying and wouldn't it be nice if we were a little ahead of the game instead of a little bit behind? It sure would be nice to greet the New Year knowing we had a wonderful Thanksgiving where we didn't completely stuff ourselves and then go to an average of 7 -10 Christmas gatherings and not completely stuff ourselves at each one of those, too! (7-10 is also the average weight gain in pounds during the holidays, too!)

Let's try to have a 'little' bit of self-control! Or maybe we just need a nice 'little' plan!

Here is a plan that we could use:

1. ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL SEASON! This is the number one rule!

2. Take your 'Tea Time' every morning (see 'Tea Time' post). This calms and centers us for the day ahead!

3. Stick with your workout plan trying not to let 2 days go by without exercising! If you do not already have a workout plan, start walking 3-4 times a week but no dilly dallying! Work up a sweat.

4. Add bursts of high-energy pace (really fast) with bursts of medium pace into your walking routine. For example, walk at medium pace for 2 minutes, pick up the pace considerably (practically running) for 1 minute, then back down to medium pace and then back up to high pace. Keep doing this for 20 minutes. This tricks the body into high-metabolism mode and burns fat much more efficiently. Of course, it works nicely with running, swimming and biking, too!

5. Put strength training into your day with this super-simple body weight plan:

It DOES NOT matter how old you are! You CAN do this!


Work in squats, push-ups and crunches throughout the day. When you get up in the morning, take 2 minutes to do 25 squats, 25 push-ups and 25 crunches one after the other. Of course, you can work up to the 25. Start with 10 each if you have to and before you know it you will be doing 25! Now, if you are pregnant or just can't seem to get on the floor for push-ups, you can do wall push-ups. Just put your hands on the wall and bring your feet as far away as you can and bring your nose to the wall. Hey! You have to start somewhere!

Now the trick is to do this 3-exercise-strength-training-set 4-5 times throughout the day, every day! It only takes a few minutes! I sneak them in whenever I walk into my room or into the bathroom. If you do 25 reps at a time, you will end up doing 100 squats, 100 push-ups and 100 crunches by the end of the day! Yay!

6. Make sure to drink your 8-10 glasses of water each day. Make it easy by always bringing a water bottle in the car. I get the big case of Ice Mountain at Costco and leave the whole case in my van. I have a reusable water bottle for the house.

7. Now what to do with all the food at all of these gatherings? First of all, remember, ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL TIME OF YEAR! But remember that 'failing to plan is a plan to fail'! It really is true! If a person wants to live a healthy lifestyle, a person has to plan. So:

Whatever dish you need to bring to the gathering, make sure it is a 'clean-eating' dish. Meaning GOOD FOR YOU HEALTHY INGREDIENTS! That way you always have something healthy to eat along with all of the other goodies. You could always offer to bring a veggie tray OR A BOWL OF MIXED BERRIES, too! But a nice healthy pumpkin pie would be much more fun to eat! *I will have a few recipes at the end of this post*

Remember the 50% plate rule? 50% of your plate should consist of veggies and fruit~preferably fresh, 25% should be your protein (meat etc), and 25% grains and starches.

This is just a rule of 'thumb'. It just feels good to have a PLAN!

8. Drink water on the way to the gathering or eat a piece of fruit so you are not so tempted to eat everything in sight!

9. Enjoy your favorites! But instead of going for seconds, sip slowly on your drink and visualize a fit and happy 'you'! You just KNOW someone will be secretly admiring your 'self control!' And then go into the bathroom and do 10 wall push-ups just to keep you focused! We are in CONTROL NOW!

10. Keep a notepad by your bed to write 5 things you are thankful for each night and maybe even a little summary of your exercise etc, and what your goals are. It is also a good time to breathe nice and deep (yoga breath-fill the belly with air on the inhale and feel the belly button sink back to the spine on the exhale). Know that this was a GOOD day!

Now a few 'clean-eating' recipes: (Make sure to check out the Cranberries and Apple recipe posted earlier.)



PUMPKIN PIE

9" pie crust, unbaked *recipe follows*

2 c. cooked, mashed pumpkin

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 to 1/3 c. honey

2 T molasses (optional)

1 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground ginger

1/4 t. ground cloves

1 c. light cream or half-and-half or milk plus 2 T melted butter or yogurt

1/2 t vanilla

Blend filling ingredients with beater or blender. Pour into crust. Bake at 400` for 45-55 minutes, or until knife inserted halfway cetween center and crust comes out clean. Cool on rack.

Variation: Replace pumpkin with 2 c. cooked sweet potatoes, add 1/2 t. ground nutmeg and 1/2 c. unsweetened, shredded coconut, if desired. Bake at 350` for about 1 hour.



EASY OIL CRUST

2 c. whole wheat flour

1 t. salt (optional)

1/2 c. oil

1/4 c. cold water

Stir flour and salt in a bowl. Combine oil and water and mix into flour with a fork. form into 2 balls with your hands and let sit, covered with a cloth, for 5 minutes. Roll out between sheets of waxed paper. Place rolled dough into pie plate; fill and bake. Makes 1-10" or 2-9" crusts.

PEAR, PROSCUITTO AND HAZELNUT STUFFING

This recipe is from www.eatingwell.com/recipes/pear_prosciutto_hazelnut_stuffing.html. Click onto the link for the recipe and nutritional value, etc. I am planning on making this. I think it sounds gourmet and the holidays is a perfect time for me to try anything gourmet. Otherwise, I am a pretty basic cook! I will still make the original stuffing for the kids. This website has a lot of great sounding recipes and I already have it bookmarked! For more healthy Thansgiving recipes, just look for the link that says Healthy Thanksgiving recipes. There is even a green bean casserole one that uses fresh mushrooms and a homemade white sauce!


Please remember, this is just a plan to keep us on track. I have NEVER followed a plan perfectly! I like to have a plan, though. I feel better and I enjoy and appreciate good, healthy food! I still enjoy good, unhealthy food, too, but the majority of the time I try to eat healthy!


There is a saying that I really believe to be true: "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." That is so true. Just undereat once and awhile and you will know what I mean! We are so used to overeating that we hardly get the chance to feel what 'thin' feels like.



Please do not stress about anything during the holidays! Thanksgiving and Christmas are very special events that are supposed to bring us closer to our Heavenly Father. There is absolutely no reason to feel stressed! Just K.I.S.S! Keep It Simple, Sweetheart!


Plan on all shopping, etc, to be done by December 1st. In December, enjoy baking cookies and visiting and surprising someone with the gift of time (babysitting, running errands for etc). Christmas is not about shopping, though I know it has to be done. I refuse to let it dominate my entire Christmas season! I really do want a simple Christmas! To be able to enjoy our loved ones knowing we were first loved by God! (Please see earlier post "Can We have A Simple Christmas?" and check out the comments for a lot of wonderful ideas.)

Have a beautiful Thanksgiving and Christmas season!

PS. If anyone has an idea that works nicely for them, just let us all know! Or maybe a good healthy recipe, etc. Thanks! I love other peoples ideas!