Get Fit For The Holidays!

Making Better Choices to Get Fit for our Health

The first step to eating better is shopping smarter. It starts from the grocery store to your kitchen. Take a look at what you have in your kitchen and re-evaluate your grocery habits. Foods that are easily accessible are the foods you will most likely eat, so get rid of the junk food now and start filling your cabinets with food you know is good for your body. Below are some tips for making small adjustments that will help you get fit and lose weight.

1. Always make a shopping list. If you don’t plan what to eat, you plan to cheat! The extra effort it takes to plan ahead is well worth your time. Take a few minutes once a week to find healthy recipes that you want to make, and write down the ingredients that you need to buy. Don’t forget to include on-the-go snacks such as nutrition bars and trail mix, plus healthy recipes that are quick to prepare. This will prevent you from going to fast-food restaurants for a quick fix. Instead, save yourself the calories. 2. Look at the ingredients. If you are unsure what an ingredient is, don’t buy it. A lot of the long-winded words in processed foods are chemicals, preservatives, or genetically modified ingredients. Examples include hydrogenated oils, sodium benzoate, and maltodextrin. If your body does not recognize a substance in the body, your immune system will treat it like a toxin and try to fight it off. These added stresses on the body may negatively affect your metabolism, which may lead to weight gain. 3. If you really are craving sweets, eat a piece of fruit. Chances are, your craving will be satisfied. However, if you still can’t get over your craving then limit yourself to an individually packaged item that is one serving size. Don’t buy the whole cake, a dozen cookies, or a liter of soda. It is not worth the discount on bulk items if they will cause you to gain weight. Having these items sitting around in your house will tempt you to consume it! 4. Limit attending events based around eating food. Most events like birthday parties, potlucks, and banquets have an abundance of desserts, burgers, pizza, and/or soda. Those are all the foods you should be avoiding in order to lose weight. If you do attend events, however, bring a healthy dish or eat a meal right before leaving your house. That way, you will not be hungry and are less likely to indulge in junk food.

Tis the season to be slimming! Don’t use the holidays as an excuse to eat junk. You can still mingle with family and friends without making poor eating decisions. When the holidays roll around, try new healthy recipes and change up the tradition a little. The choices you make will influence those around you – give the gift of positive change this season! Eating healthy doesn’t mean giving up your favorite foods, but changing how you prepare them to get fit. Happy Holidays!

Contact Me for More Info on How to Get Fit:

Kelly Gibson has certifications from NASM, Precision Nutrition, eCornell, over 3 years experience as a Coach and Trainer, a lifelong athlete, and has earned a Biological Engineering degree from Penn State University.  If you need to calculate your calories, macros, and other weight loss goals, Kelly is your go-to trainer for Plant-Based Nutrition.