Shed it Now by Anna V.

1. Snack on a big plate of veggies before going to a Christmas party or dinner. This will fill you up on the good stuff, and then you’re not starving at the dinner.

2. When making a plate of food, take a smaller portion than normal and plan on maybe having seconds if you’re still hungry. Plus, this will force you to eat more slowly.

3. Drink a glass of water between each glass of wine or cocktail. This makes you less hungry and less thirsty for alcohol.

4. If your craving the sweets have just 1 of your favorites and eat slowly, enjoy it completely. If possible, eat half of it and save the other half for later to feel that your sweet tooth can get another taste but without the extra calories.

5. When making a plate for dinner, fill half your plate with the good healthy stuff (veggies, fruit, salad, etc.) and the other half with a mix of your carbs and protein.

6. Eat slowly during your meals to allow yourself to enjoy the meal and not overeat! It is about 15 minutes after you eat that your body feels the fullness completely. Eating slowly allows the body to feel it’s fullness before you’ve eaten too much.

7. When tempted to having seconds, wait for at least 15 minutes after eating to make a final decision. Most likely you will feel too full by then.

8. Encourage your family and friends to engage in a nice walk around the neighborhood after dinner. This helps digestion tremendously and will help burn off a couple hundred calories from dinner. If we can do it in Massachusetts 5degree weather, SO CAN YOU!

9. Exercise everyday! Try and walk or run for at least 30 minutes everyday. This is the best way to keep your metabolism running high and to burn hundreds of extra calories!

10. Before taking a cookie, piece of chocolate, piece of pie, candy, or any sweet, make a deal with yourself…. For every one that you eat, you owe yourself 15 minutes of cardio exercise that day!

Happy Holidays!

ANNA V.

Crunches are the worst! Yes, I said it! They not only put too much stress on your spine but the effects of a crunch don’t compare to other great core exercises.

The PLANK is the best exercise to strengthen your core muscles, pull in your abdominal wall to create a flatter stomach, and improve your overall posture.

What is a PLANK you ask? Hold yourself above the ground by supporting your body with just your forearms and toes. Keep your elbows directly beneath your shoulders and keep your body perfectly straight without letting your hips sag towards the ground or point up in the air like a tee pee! You should feel a burn through your back, abdominals, and shoulders on this one.

If you can hold a PLANK for 1 minute then great! You have a stronger core than most people. Continue to get stronger by adding a side step with your feet or lifting one leg off the ground and alternating from right to left for the entire minute.

Your goal should be to PLANK for 3 minutes! If you can only PLANK for 30 seconds, start practicing today. This is a great assessment of your Core strength!

ANNA V.

Get out today and do “a little”!

Think about this…How often do you think about going out for a walk, run, or bike ride and then convince yourself that you don’t have time or that you are too tired to do it?

You may be thinking that your workout has to be this big, long, strenuous hour that takes all your energy in order to be worth it. This is not the case! So often we decide to go all or nothing. Whatever happened to “a little”? I like the idea of “a little”. Doing a little everyday goes a long way. Even just stretching in your living room and doing a few core exercises.

If your energy is low or you only have about 30 minutes to exercise, then do “a little”. I was feeling the same way yesterday where I just didn’t have the energy for my planned workout and instead I did “a little” of what I planned and felt great. I almost threw it all to the wind and said “I just can’t today” but then in my mind I thought, “well, a little is better than nothing”.

Take this approach in your own life and accept that somedays you will do “a little” to maintain your fitness and other days you will do a lot. Don’t miss the middle man here and give up completely on your workouts.The benefits of moving your body, getting the increased blood flow to the heart, and producing a metabolic boost are still accomplished with “a little” each day!

Health and Happiness!

ANNA V.