Tips from members of the Zenergy Personal Trainer Team

The holiday season – with all the eating, stress and general insanity – is officially here. Don’t let it derail you! To help, we asked our team of experts for their secrets to staying fit and healthy through New Year’s and beyond.

 

BRENDA POWELL:

Get a jump start on your New Year’s Resolution! Instead of exercising less, resolve to exercise more over the holidays. Don’t give in to the idea that you don’t have time to work out. Look at your calendar and shift the way that you’ve done things before. Make exercise a priority and schedule more workouts than normal, not less. Increase the duration and/or frequency of your exercise sessions. Eat less and move more!

TIM HANNA:

Avoid overeating by being present and mindful. Turn off the TV, sit down and fully chew each bite of food. Put the fork down between bites and TASTE WHAT GOES IN YOUR MOUTH! Yes, it takes longer and it’s absolutely worth it. You will be more satisfied, relaxed and satiated after eating a smaller portion. You also will digest much better than racing through a meal with other distractions.

YVETTE HUBBARD:

Make a plan and stick to it. If you know you will be shopping during the day and entertaining in the evenings, choose two to three mornings to do shorter, more efficient workouts. For example, do a 20-minute high-intensity interval workout to burn calories and crank up your metabolism!

EMILY KNOWLES:

Make healthy eating easy! Go through the cupboards, get rid of the junk, shop, plan and prep food (cut up veggies the day you buy them, pre-cook some standards – boiled eggs, chicken breasts so they are ready to toss into soups and stews). Get ready for easy, healthy and energy-boosting meals.

DIANE OLSEN:

Take a mental health break! Put down your ‘To Do’ list, slip on your coat and step outside for five minutes. Look toward Baldy or the Boulders and Pios, breathe deeply and try to empty your head. These five minutes are not about guilt or planning. If you need a more substantive reason, it’s about controlling cortisol.

JENNIFER HUBBARD:

On Thanksgiving, we always do something as a family, such as a big hike or walk. Working out with a buddy helps so much during the holidays! We have a step contest with our Fitbits – usually we win when we shop a lot!

ZACK TAYLOR:

Transition with the season to keep workouts and nutrition plans interesting! Winter indicates bulk season: We naturally store more during the winter and tend to eat excess calories due to the holiday goodies. So with winter being more calories and capitalizing on excess calories, spring and summer then hints towards swimsuit season and needing to start “trimming” up.

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On average, Americans gain approximately 1 to 2 pounds during the winter holiday season, according to research.For overweight and obese people, the number is higher. While a pound or two may not sound terrible, most of us fail to lose the extra flab after winter is over. And that’s the real problem. Year after year, it’s a recipe for packing on the pounds as we age.