Healthy Living

The Holiday Season is upon us and that means that the holiday parties and get-togethers are also here.  While this can be a joyous time of year, the average American gains 7-10 lbs during the Holiday Season.  Here are a few tips to help you avoid weight gain at your parties this season:

1. Eat before you go out:  By filling up on something healthy, like a salad before you head off to a party, you’re less likely to overindulge on things you would normally pass up.    

2.  Get a plate:  If you’re eating fingerfood all night, the tendency is to overeat if you never get a plate and see how much you’re eating.  If you’re talking all night, you might not even remember half of the things you ate.  But if you put your food on a plate, you can be more conscious of what you’re eating.  And hopefully there will be a little bit of green on your plate.   

3.  Throw that plate away when you’re done and stick to it!  After you’ve eaten a plate of food, throw it away and enjoy the rest of the party.  If you ate something before and a plate of food at the party, you’re most likely satisfied.   Anything else that you eat will just be mindless, social eating and is going to make you have to make that dreaded New Years resolution of losing weight again next year.

With Thanksgiving upon us many will be hitting the grocery store to pick up items for very traditional, but very unhealthy recipes.  In this edition of the Transformation blog, we wanted to give you a healthy recipe that is sure to be an instant hit at your Thanksgiving Day Celebration.

ZUCCHINI HONEY BREAD

1 cup of olive oil

3 eggs

1 cup of honey

2 cups of zucchini pulp

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 1/2 cup oat flour

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mixture 1: Beat eggs, add oil and honey, beat until thick, and mix in zucchini pulp. Mixture 2: add flour, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder and walnuts. Add mixtures 1 & 2 together. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans and bake for approximately 1 hour.

 Overhead Kettlebell Lunge

Your body performs along forward, backward, rotational and diagonal planes of movement everyday. A lack of balanced strength along these planes will result in injury-such as a twinge in your back when picking up a suitcase or indulging in your first golf game of the season.

To be fair, machines do have a place in rehab and training, when muscle isolation, or the ability to control movement, speed, direction and intensity is desired. Machines are also useful for novice exercisers who may need a very structured program of movement to build some very basic strength. Machines can also have a role in “bulking” up the body with muscle for unspecified strength. Obviously, body builders will want as much muscle as possible, and aren’t as concerned with how that muscle performs precise, athlete movements. But functional training should be the core of a fitness program for anyone who wants to develop an athletic body along with strength, skill, agility and balance for sports (and life) outside the gym.