Holiday Health 101: Tips and Tricks for Beating the Bulge this Holiday Season

Dec. 14, 2011 - PRLog -- Calling all overeaters and the couch potato-inclined! Looking to beat those holiday pounds before they show up on the scale? Just in time to fit in that sleek New Year’s dress, Janette Janero, personal trainer and group fitness director at Florida International University, is pleased to present some tips and tricks to keep slim and fit – and avoid those temptations that pop up during the season – through calorie blasting fitness moves and healthy eating nutrition tips.

With the added stress of shopping, decorating, cooking, traveling, and unwanted out-of-town guests, Janero knows women don’t have a lot of time to fit in fitness. She warns, “We must be extremely careful during the holidays. These are the times when skipping exercise, but NOT skipping holiday sweets, can spell disaster.”

Holiday Fitness 101: Trim the Tree, and the Fat
For those who weren’t hoping for extra pounds waiting under the tree, Janero provides some quick and easy tips to fit in fitness this holiday season:
•   Tip 1: Make it happen. Just as you commit to helping make others jolly during the holidays, don’t forget about yourself. Carve out at least 30 minutes per day, three to four times a week, to give yourself the ultimate gift - health!
•   Tip 2: Make it fun. Sign up for a group class and get your friends to sign up with you! Make a date and get the in-law venting done while burning calories and getting your blood pumping.
•   Tip 3: If you can’t commit to time at the gym or a session of pounding the pavement in your Asics, keep up with the little things you can do to keep toned. How about utilizing baking time to get in some calisthenics? Do a series of 5-minute sessions of push-ups (feel free to use the counter for leverage), calf raises and squats right there in the kitchen.

Holiday Eating 101: Nutrition for Fuel, Not Fat  
The time of year when even the most health-committed people are susceptible to swapping healthy habits for easy ones is upon us. Janero’s way to break this yearly slump? “Make proper nutrition a focus of ALL holiday celebrations.” Janero provides some quick and easy tips to make this happen:
•   Tip 1: Put down the egg nog! Don’t fill up on “invisible calories” by indulging in calorie-laden drinks and cocktails. Be careful – even your favorite holiday coffee drink can be stacked with undetectable calories. Do the research and avoid the weight gain.
•   Tip 2: Pick the right foods. Be sure to stock your party plate with veggies, an often overlooked staple at most holiday parties. Add just a bit of dip – but be very careful here – this is where all of the unhealthy (and extra) calories surface. Make this your snack of choice while chatting with friends about their holiday plans. By loading up on nutritious choices, you can feel okay about sneaking in a little sweet treat – when you aren’t hungry and looking to ”bad-for-you” foods as a prime food source.
•   Tip 3: Keep stress pounds at bay. The holiday season breeds stress, which can suppress the immune system. Make an effort to get extra Vitamin C into your diet in the weeks leading up to holidays and avoid the run-down feeling, which can result in making poor food choices, not to mention – the ultimate excuse for skipping the gym.

Following a systematic plan, which combines a focus on fitness with nutrition – and sticking to it –, is the best way to stay healthy throughout the holidays – and beyond. You will be surprised at how good you feel – and look - when New Year’s Eve rolls around!

About Janette Janero
A vibrant new resource in the South Florida fitness scene, Janette Janero brings balance and health to her students and clients through her work with Florida International University.  Her intense education process, which incorporates both exercise technique and the practice of healthy living, is combined with her hands-on approach. This enables Ms. Janero to literally change lives - one by one - for the better. As a certified personal trainer and group exercise instructor at Miami, Florida-based Florida International University, Ms. Janero has worked with hundreds of students, including the FIU Golden Dazzlers dance team, and teaches a variety of classes including Zumba, Spinning, Aqua Fitness, and Belly Dancing. She is also a certified holistic lifestyle coach. Here, she focuses how disease and stress are preventable through healthy eating habits, lifestyle management, and appropriate types of exercise. Currently in development, the fitness guru plans to launch “enlite,” a brand that operates by the seven dimensions of wellness - physical, emotional, social, occupational, environmental, spiritual, and intellectual - in 2012.