Keeping active is the key to a healthy holiday season in the face of heightened demands, expectations and platefuls of sweet and savoury indulgences.
Even healthy, active adults may tip the scale ever so slightly following weeks of merrymaking, but end-of-year excesses don't have to lead to regret or unrealistic New Year's resolutions.
"People's schedules start to get pretty hectic this time of year," said Joanna Weiler, a personal trainer at North Vancouver's Hollyburn Country Club.
The difference between a few minutes of exercise and none at all, she says, is immense. "Poor nutritional choices really wreak havoc on your energy levels. If you can keep that exercise up, even if you are counteracting that with booze and extra food, at least the exercise keeps your metabolism up, keeps your energy up, keeps you feeling good."
Come 2012, your healthy habits either persisted through another calendar year or you may have developed new ones worth pursuing. "Going into January, you will feel better about continuing on that path," she said.
Here are five tips for healthy living this holiday season and through the year.
Plan ahead. Whether you are travelling or hosting guests, take the time to plan individual or group activities both indoors and outside. "The biggest thing is planning ahead and knowing what your plan is so you can prioritize your workouts," said Weiler. Setting a course of action and telling others about it will help keep you accountable. "If you can get that 30 minutes in, it's excellent."
Get creative. Vancouver's community centres, including ice rinks and swimming pools, are open most days and some are open Christmas and New Year's Day. Head indoors for familiar terrain if you regularly visit a gym or take a breath of fresh air and get outside. Weiler advises taking the path of least resistance. "It might be fun to try something new, but on the other hand, maybe you don't have time to go to the gym. You may stick to your own living room or basement."
Play with the family. Winter is ideal for snowy activities like tobogganing, skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing and building snowmen. If you can't make it to the mountains and if the temperature doesn't drop below zero, this advice often falls flat in balmy Vancouver. Instead, hit the seawall on your bicycles, play a team sport or go for a walk as a family.
Most Canadian kids aren't active enough, according to health statistics based on the national average. Weiler's answer is to play and make exercise fun. "Kids need to be getting 30 minutes of exercise every day. There is something that's always fun and usually you can extend that much more past half an hour and it's quite the day."
Get outside. Fresh air, occasional sunshine and not-so-frosty winter weather on the West Coast. If you can hit the slopes, be prepared for a good sweat. "Climbing up that hill is quite a workout, especially if you're dragging a kid in the back of sled," said Weiler. "Some of these things, you're not used to doing, you're wearing heavy boots, a heavy jackets-you're sweating, your heart rate is coming up, you're breathing is increasing and you're using a lot of muscles that you're not used to using, so you can actually burn quite a few more calories than you're used to."
Make the most of time off. Work with your schedule-as hectic as it may be-and steal a few minutes to maintain your workout or launch new ones. "If you can get it done first thing in the morning or early in your day, you're probably better off because you're going to have less distractions later on with those last-minute invites," said Weiler.
No time in the morning? Weiler says avoid setting unrealistic expectations of yourself. "I can say: Get up and do it at 6: 30 in the morning but if there is no way you're going to do that, then you're just setting yourself up for failure. It's a matter of booking that time for yourself. Shopping is a priority but so are your workouts. Any exercise is good exercise-whatever time is going to work."
DON'T SCROOGE YOUR HEALTH
Ali Chernoff exposes the ghost of Christmas gluttony who hides in binge eating. The Vancouverite and registered dietitian points to U.S. statistics that suggest Americans regularly gain five to 10 pounds over the holiday season. Her Canadian clients, nonetheless, endure the same reality before they contact her and learn healthy ways to feed themselves.
Chernoff emphasizes the importance of planning ahead, which not only means opting for certain dishes over others and practicing potion control, but also includes eating balanced meals throughout the day. "A lot of people would starve themselves all day and then go crazy," she said. "They would have more calories in one meal than in an entire day."
They might lose the weight during the year, but more likely those added pounds added up over time. "They usually lost it but found that every year it was more difficult to take off until they decided to have a New Year's Resolu-
tion and see a dietitian. That's always how it goes."
This year, beat Jan. 1 by a week.
-MS
Twitter: @MHStewart
