healthy eating meal plansMarissa Nieves, Fitness Expert for the December 28 Day Challenge has shared some great tips about how you can keep on track with your healthy fitness goals during the festive season:
As the Christmas season begins, it is only too easy to fall into the excitement of celebrations and soon after drop into lethargy. The holiday season gives us the perfect excuse to throw the workout out the window and lose our hard earned results. Here are a few quick tips to maintaining that waist you have strived to achieve in 2015 and making sure the weeks over Christmas don’t leave you where you started.

1) Commit to yourself today

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”. Benjamin Franklin stated it well. Planning in advance allows the best chance at success. Schedule some short and sweet workouts into your calendar this festive season to ensure when the going gets tough, you get going with your workouts. Let your friends and family know you plan to stay in shape this season (they may even join you!) and ask them to hold you accountable when the festivities begin.

2) Something is better than nothing

It is possible that some of your workouts may not go exactly to plan over the holidays and some may not go at all. This is all part of life and it is important to allow some flexibility. Understand that it is not all or nothing.  In fact, those short and sweet workouts in between errands and gatherings may actually be the one thing supporting your goals this season.

3) HIIT it hard

Take quality over quantity when it comes to choosing your workouts. Schedule in the more challenging exercises and higher intensity circuits during the silly season. HIIT workouts are perfect as they may be performed for only a short period of time. Along with saving yourself some time, you will burn fat more efficiently.  
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4) Don’t let Santa be the only one who stops

Something we all forget to do at this time of year is stop. Schedule 5 minutes of relax time per day where you simply sit quietly for a few minutes and enjoy the breeze, watch your children play or soak your feet. Just doing nothing for 5 minutes per day can help to reduce stress levels, regulate your adrenals and support your metabolism. Going into overdrive may complete tasks but it may also allow extra belly fat to creep in over the season due to higher levels of stress hormones required to keep you going at full speed.

5) Have fun!

In the midst of all the preparations, it is easy to forget to enjoy it all! Get active and move your body for fun this Christmas. If you are cleaning the house, add squats or core control to each movement or throw in a celebration dance. There is always an opportunity to add movement to a situation and enjoy calorie burning and other quality fitness benefits at the same time. Instead of driving to the shops, why not ride or walk and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. Find creative ways to add more fun into your day and reap the benefits of burning a few extra calories while enjoying your festive season.
Marissa Nieves, Fitness Expert
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