This is the million dollar question many of us ask this time of the year. We all come to this time of year and become over stressed with massive amounts of holiday crunch time shopping, trying to schedule family visits and trying to make the best Christmas we can for those we love. In all of this, our bodies and our fitness levels get left behind. We socially except overheating of sweets, turkey dinners, homemade traditions and cheap Walmart chocolate. In doing so, the average male adult puts on just over 2lbs over the holidays and females it on an average of 1.7lbs. Sure, you have new years resolutions to save you from this holiday binge, but often times the weight we put o. Over the holidays is there to stay. Our bodies want another layer of ft to keep us warm in the cold, dark winter. That layer can mean the difference between a large shirt and an extra large t-shirt.
Although I do not have all of the answers and probably new ver will, this fact still concerns me. I enjoy the holidays and I love eating good food, but it is absolutely essential that we get our workouts in over the holiday season. Last year, I ran the 2nd annual Christmas eve run in Oxford NS we another person. While sporting Christmas themed shirts, we ran 5km and talked abut Christmas and what we wanted under the tree and our new year to come. The weather sucked but the memories live on. The time we shared in that run on Christmas eve is something I wish to do each and every Christmas eve. This is one example of how to practice weight maintenance over the holidays. When it's a holiday, go out and do something, not because you have to, but because you want to. Grab a family member or a friend you haven't seen in awhile and go for a walk with them on boxing day instead of sleeping off the turkey and festive treats. If you have vacation time, you do not have to get up early, but when you do get up, role out of bed and get some sort of exercise in to ignite your metabolism for the remainder of the day. Exercising in the mornings will allow you to burn more calories throughout the day. Also, add caffeine to your day to keep your metabolism up. If you are going to consume alcoholic beverages moderate them with water. If eggnog is your thing, try a carton of fat free or reduced fat eggnog. If you really enjoy enjoy gingerbread cookies, have one without frosting and candy on it. Eat more turkey and less potatoes and dessert. The potatoes and desserts are full of carbs and little protein and protein is your main muscle ingredient. Finally, don't exercise so you can eat, eat so that you can exercise. Simply put, do not exercise and think that you can consume whatever you want as you will ultimately put weight on. Instead, think about what we are eating, why we are eating and then allow yourself to exercise around that.
It's important to note that we can enjoy the holidays and the food that is socially attached to this time of year as long as we remain active and engaged in physical activity as much as possible. You may be criticized for doing so, But those who love you will accept your decisions to partake in exercise despite its inconvenience at Christmas time.
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Thursday, 24 November 2011
An Ode to the vegetarians?
Good evening to you all. Tonight, my friend Tim and I are at the local pool. On the drive in, I started thinking a lot about vegetarianism and why someone would choose this option of eating. First of all, in no way do I have all of the answers, but with the education I have and from the experiences I have shared, I am going to break down vegarianism.
Number one reason for becoming a vegetarian....what is in our food? We have such a variety of foods and have seen our share of meat product contamination, inhumane ways of treating animals, and have heard the horrors of sodium filled meats and animal biproducts. If I were to take an educated guess, I would assume that to become a vegetarian, would omit all of these uneeded stressors we have faced as a society. Which leads me to my second point..
Purity. By not ingesting mass amounts of sodium from dried and packaged meats and by not contaminating the body with higher amounts of cholesterol, we in turn purify our bodies by choosing "greener" alternatives. By having soy products we are choosing to put less complexity of unknown sources in our bodies..but what about the rest of us...
I firmly believe in eating meats.....of a certain kind and I believe that meat and dairy products are essential for a healthy, prosperous life. The thing that needs to be addressed is eating the right kinds of meats. We cannot simple buy cheap meat products and dried, mass produced products in hopes of achieving optimal health. We must choose lean meats which are low in fat and meat products which are locally grown. Meat has been consumed since the dawn of time and should continue as such, but we have such a variety of meats that the best types should be chosen. Animal cruelty and slaughterhouses operate according to Capitalist norms for the best types of production for their animal products. We must choose for ourselves not to simply go to KFC and order a bucket of chicken and say we are meat eaters. And we must not look at a can of lean tuna, choose not to eat it and call ourselves vegetarians. We must make the right food source choices and incorporate a balance of everything in our diets to achieve optimal health. Maybe I am wrong in saying this, but I am here on this planet to be the best I can be at whatever I choose to do. I am here to make a difference in others lives and to educate the masses. In doing so, I require balanced, healthy choices which included a limited but abundant meat group in a weekly diet. Prepare good food, buy good food and you too can achieve optimal health.
Ryan Fahey
CPTN Canada
Confit pro Fitness Instructor
Number one reason for becoming a vegetarian....what is in our food? We have such a variety of foods and have seen our share of meat product contamination, inhumane ways of treating animals, and have heard the horrors of sodium filled meats and animal biproducts. If I were to take an educated guess, I would assume that to become a vegetarian, would omit all of these uneeded stressors we have faced as a society. Which leads me to my second point..
Purity. By not ingesting mass amounts of sodium from dried and packaged meats and by not contaminating the body with higher amounts of cholesterol, we in turn purify our bodies by choosing "greener" alternatives. By having soy products we are choosing to put less complexity of unknown sources in our bodies..but what about the rest of us...
I firmly believe in eating meats.....of a certain kind and I believe that meat and dairy products are essential for a healthy, prosperous life. The thing that needs to be addressed is eating the right kinds of meats. We cannot simple buy cheap meat products and dried, mass produced products in hopes of achieving optimal health. We must choose lean meats which are low in fat and meat products which are locally grown. Meat has been consumed since the dawn of time and should continue as such, but we have such a variety of meats that the best types should be chosen. Animal cruelty and slaughterhouses operate according to Capitalist norms for the best types of production for their animal products. We must choose for ourselves not to simply go to KFC and order a bucket of chicken and say we are meat eaters. And we must not look at a can of lean tuna, choose not to eat it and call ourselves vegetarians. We must make the right food source choices and incorporate a balance of everything in our diets to achieve optimal health. Maybe I am wrong in saying this, but I am here on this planet to be the best I can be at whatever I choose to do. I am here to make a difference in others lives and to educate the masses. In doing so, I require balanced, healthy choices which included a limited but abundant meat group in a weekly diet. Prepare good food, buy good food and you too can achieve optimal health.
Ryan Fahey
CPTN Canada
Confit pro Fitness Instructor
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