Here are a few tips to ensure you don't fritter away your fitness during the silly season. By Susan Edmunds.
The most difficult time of the year to stick to fitness regimes and healthy-eating resolutions is upon us. Tempted by rich food, bottles of bubbly and a string of parties, how can you keep on track so that the new year doesn't mean having to start all over again at the gym?
Trainers say the most important thing is to do something - no matter what. Don't be too hard on yourself. Accept that you will not make it to the gym as often as you do during the year. Make your goal to maintain your current weight and level of fitness - any improvements are a bonus.
The amount of exercise needed to maintain your fitness levels could be less than you think. Trainer Terrence Robertson says, for example, that if you are doing something such as training with kettlebells - which involves cardio as well as strength-training - working out twice a week will be enough. "It really depends on what you are doing." Opt for high-impact exercises that blast a lot of calories in a short time and preferably combine weight training with a cardio workout.
Snatch five or 10 minutes of cardio when you can. Buy a skipping rope and blitz out a couple of minutes whenever you get time. If you think you are going to run out of time to exercise, schedule in appointments. Often, if you leave working out for any spare time, you'll find no such time exists. Corinne Austin, a personal trainer in Whangarei, suggests a daily walking date with a friend or relative. "Every day, get up and go for half an hour before doing anything else. It's a lovely time to share with a friend or your children and it will kick off your metabolism for the day."
She recommends getting together with a friend to keep each other on track. "Before you blob out for the Christmas period, set yourselves a goal or two each to have achieved by the end of January. This will keep you active throughout that time where we tend to over-indulge. You each take on the role of personal trainer and are accountable to one another. If either of you falls off the wagon, pick the other one up." She recommends picking a prize or reward that you'll get if you reach your goal.
One of the best things about the holiday period here is the weather. Make it a part of your fitness routine and think of ways to incorporate exercise into the time you spend with family and friends. Instead of sitting around at home, go for a walk together or take a picnic to the beach, where you can go for a swim or surf at the same time.
Drink lots of water. Alcohol is dehydrating and often being thirsty is mistaken for hunger. Too much of anything gets stored as fat, even healthy food. Fill up on vegetables, salads and low-fat dressings, then finish off with more indulgent food - you'll be too full to overeat.
Austin suggests a food-exercise calculator. "For example, [decide] for each glass of wine, you must complete 50 star jumps, or for each slice of fruit cake you eat, you must go for a 20-minute run." She says it won't combat the extra calories but it's better than doing nothing.
