You have been keeping track of your nutrient intake, planning healthy meals, and making smart choices when eating away from home for months as you work hard to meet your health goals. You know that because you have made a commitment to change your lifestyle, your new healthy eating and fitness habits have to be ongoing. Now that special days and holiday time have arrived, you realize doing that can become challenging. Special days like the World Series or Halloween can easily tempt you to throw caution to the wind and forget all about your goals only to be frustrated a week later when you get back to your usual routines and realize you have suffered a setback. Whether you are tempted by high calorie treats, skipping a workout or two or just can't seem to keep your hands out of the candy dish, choose to let moderation be your guide. Moderation means avoiding extremes in favor of balance. One of the keys to moderation is making conscious choices. The biggest way you can do this today for Halloween is to make a plan and then work the plan. When it comes to what you eat and drink, plan ahead including the treats you want to enjoy in moderation. Whether you want to include a high calorie treat like a Pumpkin Spice Latte WITH the whip cream or you want to enjoy a caramel apple and hot cider, make your plan with moderation in mind. Instead of the 470-calorie twenty ounce coffee drink, plan for the smaller 210-calorie eight ounce serving, then be sure to take your time to savor and enjoy it. Instead of mindlessly eating the candy you are handing out as you are waiting for the next wave of visitors, enjoy your moderate treat BEFORE they come. While those snack size candy bars do not seem like much at the time, the calories mount up over two-hours of trick-or-treat. This year, select a serving of your favorite sweet treat and slowly enjoy it with a glass of milk/soymilk before the festivities begin. This helps fill you up, satisfies your sweet tooth and removes the guilt because you planned and enjoyed in moderation and can more easily have the willpower to resist the urge to enjoy more. When it comes to your fitness plans, you can practice moderation here as well. Instead of totally skipping your workout in favor of rushing home to be ready for the ghouls and goblins, plan a ten to fifteen minute workout instead. Since small amounts of fitness add up, working out a little bit is better than not working out at all. Another opportunity to fit in activity is to use the time between visitors at your door for quick bursts of anaerobic exercise. If you like to hand out candy from your garage, have your jump rope handy for a quick minute of jumping between guests. Too cold where you live to be outside, how about a few quick sprints up and down the steps while you wait. Even just doing jumping jacks for a minute (if you have limited mobility do them seating using your arms a quickly as possible) while you wait will get that heart pumping and keep you from being tempted by the goodies you are handing out. Special days and holiday don't have to be all or nothing days. Moderation is a long-term key to success. When you come to these times that once caused you a setback, put your new strategies of moderation into practice. The more you practice, the better you will meet every obstacle put in your new lifestyle path with success as you continue to move forward toward your goals. Help others learn what works for you. How will you stay on your healthy lifestyle path for Halloween? |
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