The Holidays are upon us and there is an expectation that overindulging in food and drink and curling up under our blankets is part of the routine to help us get through the cold winter. Some believe that this routine can only be broken by the arrival of the New Year and subsequently by tons of New Year resolutions of losing weight, eating healthy and exercising.
When faced by the reality of the regular busy work or school day, however, those resolutions more often than not, fall to the wayside.
You can actually get through the holidays without gaining weight and staying healthy if you just spend a little time making a plan. Just by creating goals and keeping track of what we eat and how much we exercise will help us understand that staying healthy doesn’t mean that we need to stop eating what we like or exhaust ourselves with hours of a tiring exercise program.
You will be able to realize that with a little planning, you can build a healthy lifestyle into your holidays as well as your busy work or school life.
The United States Department of Agriculture created an online tool, the Super Tracker supertracker.usda.gov which you can use to create your personalized nutrition and physical activity plan, to keep track of your foods and physical activities, and to get tips and support to make healthier choices.
For more healthy holiday tips, go to cdc.gov/family/holiday
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Article by: Dagmar Paul, RN, MSN, District nurse