Festivities in India are celebrated with much aplomb and gusto, be it Holi, Diwali, Eid, Christmas or New Year. The holiday season spells joy and brings with it endless soirees and traditional functions and above all, the delicacies and sweets.
The holiday season, however, may spell doom for those who keenly focus on health and fitness, as not only does it disrupt your schedule, it also means you tend to eat unhealthy. Thus putting on those few extra pounds you’ve been trying to avoid with your stringent diet and strict gym/fitness routine all year round.
But all is not lost; this year can be different! You can enjoy your holiday period but still stay fit and in shape. We have put together few tips and secrets that will help stay fit during this season of overindulgence -
1) Stay Active / Keep Moving:
Apart from trying to stay fit it also essential that you keep yourself mildly engaged in certain forms of movement, like pacing around the house/workplace or taking the steps instead of the lift. Research suggests that sitting for prolonged periods of time is hazardous to health. So make sure you’re not sitting idle for long periods and are involving yourself in some form of activity, be it as simple as taking a short walk around your house.2) Have a Plan of Action:
The holiday season can be a real damper in terms of disrupting your exercise/weight loss schedule. So it is absolutely necessary to keep track of your dietary intake and activity level. This will help you better understand the number of calories you consume via certain foods and also help you balance it out during the day or week.3) Get Creative:
The holiday season tends to get hectic with functions, get togethers, or even travelling out of the city. This means you will have little or no chance to squeeze in that quick workout session. So instead of skipping it completely you can get a little creative and shift from your mundane workouts to something fun and different. Things like family walks, going for a quick jog, skipping rope, or playing a sport will definitely cut it for you.4) Control Indulgence:
The key to healthy being is maintaining a balance within your lifestyle. Holidays tend to be the season and reason to overindulge. Most of us justify it as only ‘this one time’, however, that does not really make or break your fitness regime. But unfortunately for some, what may start as a one-time thing might become a pattern due to the endless celebrations.5) Find different workouts/activities:
The human nature is such that we might tend to get bored with routine forms of exercise. Thus it is always fun to mix it up a little by trying new things and meeting new people with similar interests. So instead of skipping the workout this holiday season, vouch to try something new like – martial arts, yoga, dancing, Zumba, or even a spin class. With the advancement in technology, apps like Fiticket.com make life easier in finding out places where you can enroll yourself.6) Diet – Avoid the carbs:
Maintaining a diet doesn’t mean starving oneself or not eating at all, it implies eating smart. The holidays mean you will be surrounded by tempting food options, so instead of piling your plate with a mountain of carbohydrates like rice, noodles, pastas, etc take smaller portions of them and make room for some protein. This can include foods like chicken, fish, lentils, and paneer. Also make sure to add some fiber in the form of vegetables found in curries and salads.7) Hydrate:
Staying hydrated is as important as your workouts and eating right. The mind might confuse thirst with hunger thus making you eat more than you should. A glass of water before your meal, and especially before second helpings can help control the amount of food you consume. It is ideal to consume at least 6-8 glasses of water on a daily basis.8) Home Fitness:
Sometimes your own abode may serve as the best place to take your first steps towards fitness. Simple exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges, crunches, pull-ups clubbed with a quick walk or jog in your neighbourhood could be a quick fix to manage your fitness dilemma during a time-crunched holiday season.
Author:
Chintan Bhiwandkar, Football loving, book reading, and constantly running insomniac. Hopes to build an army of pandas to take over the world one day.