Fitness tips to make it through the holiday season – don’t skip a meal

Posted in Food, Surviving the holidays by OA Girl!

These are very, very busy days leading up to Christmas.

I know that I am running around frantically. Darn exhausted most of the time.

I have lists after lists that I managing to keep myself on task. I have a Christmas Eve open house and then Christmas dinner. Yikes!

Well, you may wonder…”how do I stay healthy when I am running around for here to there?” or “what can I just grab and go to eat?”

Holiday tips to avoid overeating

Do NOT just “grab and go!” One thing that you can ensure is that you don’t skip a meal. I know, I know…there is so much to do.

But, if you want to keep reaching for your goals, you gotta just reach for them and that means you gotta plan it out. And, if you can’t plan it out, always have some healthy snacks on hand to have available in a time of desperation.

The more you skip, means the greater chance of overeating.

If you are running around all day, and forget to eat…you are more likely to over do it when you go to that party later on the evening.

So the more you keep on track = the less likely to overeat.

So, don’t skip a meal.

Eat healthy meals throughout the day…space them out…every three hours.

You got this!

P.S. – If you missed yesterday’s holiday fitness tip, catch it here.

P.S.S. – You can now follow me on Instagram as well.

21Dec2014

Fitness tips to make it through the holidays – stay active

Posted in Fitness, Surviving the holidays by OA Girl!

Hello all!

Boy Christmas is quickly approaching, isn’t it?

I bet you are thinking, “how am I going to stay on my diet with all that food hanging around?” I know, I know. I have thought that to myself year after year.

There is one thing that you can do. Stay active. Sign up for a race and go out and run on that day. There are plenty of holiday races happening. Can’t find one, check out Meetup.com to see if there are some active events on or near that day.

Let me share what I did this year…

Right around Thanksgiving last month, I wanted to get some accountability. I figured if I had a group of people that I was “reporting” to all month long, I might not stray from the challenge. So I signed up for a Beachbody Challenge group. My challenge was to do the 21 day fix. It consists of a container portion plan and a daily 30 minute exercise. You end up getting a bunch of colored containers and a nutrition guide to determine how many of each containers that you need in a day. At first, I really thought it was darn confusing. Then after searching around on Pinterest, I found some really great meal plans. The 30 minute workouts range from upper fix, to lower fix, to pilates fix to even something called the Dirty 30 and more. While surely not the insanity level, they were vigorous and gave one an ample workout.

So, after 21 days. I lost almost 7 pounds and 2 inches on my chest, 3 inches from my waist and 3 inches from my hips. That is pretty darn impressive for 21 days!

Here is a visual of my results:

Beachbody’s 21 Day Fix Personal Results

The challenge group that I belong to is for 30 days…so the program and accountability don’t end there. I have a few more days to go and support to make it through the holidays.

Today, my PIYO came in the mail … and I will have that ready for my New Year’s Resolution Challenge Group.

If you are interested in starting your new year off right, contact me to be part of a challenge group!

Otherwise, stay active…find some event you can train for and participate in, plan on going for a walk instead of eating food, and have a list of folks you can text or Facebook when the going gets tough on Christmas Day!

Me!

P.S. – If you missed yesterday’s post, you can find it here!

20Dec2014

Fitness tips to help you make it through the holidays – just because it says so…

Posted in Food, Surviving the holidays by OA Girl!

So today I am sure many of you are baking and cooking away, not to mention shopping.

Don't ruin your fitness over a Christmas cupcake It is hard during these days to think about not eating those tempting goodies that you are slaving away on, right?

I am sure you are standing there right now saying, “how am I going to stay away?” or “how am I going to be good on my diet when there is so much good food?”

Well, you don’t have to be perfect you know. It is the holidays after all.

But, you don’t have to gorge either!

Just because, the recipe says to cut the pie into 6-8 slices doesn’t mean that you can’t slim that down and say cut the pie into 10 slices. Or maybe instead of making muffins, you can make mini-muffins instead. Or what about making smaller cookies. Your in control you know.

Just because you are looking to get fit, doesn’t mean that you have to deprive yourself. What good will that do anyway? You will just end up binging and gorging anyway. And, oh the next morning feeling, like “I shouldn’t have done that…”

Continue reading →

20Dec2014

Tips to make it through the holidays – Just say NO to pie!

Posted in Food, Surviving the holidays by OA Girl!

Hey, just because someone offers you a piece of pie, doesn’t mean that you need to take it. Just say no!

You shouldn’t eat just because everyone else is eating.

Don’t go along to get along. This is YOUR body.

Either take smaller portions or just say “No Thank You!”

6750c460bebe24ae8ee0e1e1c41ecb72 Let me share with you something that happened to me this week.

Of course it was our company holiday gathering. Tons of food was available everywhere. It was a “pot luck” smorgasbord of appetizers, entrees and desserts.

Knowing ahead of time that I would be going to a function like this, I decided to bring a grilled chicken salad.

Walking down the hall, my co-workers said “we are going to add some weight to you.”

If this was last year or even a few months ago, I would have gorged myself on food.

Not anymore, being thin tastes better than any pie. So, I casually said that I would help myself to some salad.

I didn’t let that bother me. I am the only one who has to live with my body and how I feel in it.

And, you shouldn’t let that bother you either.

It is OK to say no, you know!

If a good “no” doesn’t work, try saying “I am full right now…” or “maybe in a little bit…” or “maybe I will take some home with me.”

There are lots of easy ways to navigate the “say NO to pie” question…BUT just say NO!

Stay tuned for another holiday tip tomorrow…

19Dec2014

21 Day Fix Approved Pork Chops

Posted in Crockpot, Recipes by OA Girl!

Always, always looking for clean eating crockpot recipes.

I just love my crockpot.

Stick in the ingredients, plug in the crockpot, turn it to low, and head off to work…return to savory smells and dinner done.

Here is a recipe I think I am going to try that is #21 Day Fix Approved:

Crockpot Pork Chops
Dice one small onion, cut 4 potatoes (can be sweet potatoes too) into chunks, pour in 10.5 oz. of chicken broth and then the pork chops…set on low for 6-8 hours and done!