Merry Christmas Holiday fitness hacks

Holiday fitness hacks The festive season usually means diets and workouts are out the window, but to assuage your guilt, try these tips to moderate the eating and get a little exercise in.

 Chewingum g can actually help reduce food cravings and appetite, so pop some in after you’ve eaten enough at the party. — AFP

ONCE again, Christmas is here.

Your diet and workout may go out the window today, but never mind; it’s a day to find some merriment to light up your heart.

Even if you’re not celebrating Christmas, everyone can savour the holiday and hope that present troubles will pass.

As Malaysians, no doubt the first thing we want to do is get together and feast today – and this activity will probably continue until 2023 rings in.

Excessive eating is one of the main reasons for the additional weight gain, but it is also due to lack of physical activity and exercise.

After bingeing on good food and drinks, we feel guilty and sign up for gym memberships – a new year, a new start.

That’s what we’d like to believe anyway! But, instead of going downhill speedily, why not put your brakes on and glide steadily down the slope for a softer landing?

Try these useful tips to stay fit this holiday season.

Eat before heading out

There will be plenty of parties, dinners, lunches and gatherings, even if they are small ones.

So, eat something before leaving home so that you won’t be tempted to overeat there.

Some people prefer to skip their meals for the day to enjoy the festive spreads later, but that only means you will be enticed to eat more and thwart your digestion.

Foregoing meals actually leads to faster weight gain.

If you have a lot of invitations, eat smaller meals and chew food well.

Remember, the slower you eat, the faster you’ll feel full.

Fill up on salads and veggies

Chances are, if you are at a big party, there will be a variety of dishes to choose from.

Fill up at least half your plate with salads (minimise the dressing) and veggies (potatoes don’t count) as these choices contain very few calories and sugar.

Also, sit further away from the food, especially desserts, so that you have to get up and walk to get second or third helpings. Every little walking step counts!

It also helps prevent you from continuing to pick at a certain food just because it is in front of you.

Load up on water

Drink a lot of water to satiate your appetite and keep hydrated.

It will also prevent a possible hangover if you go overboard with the alcohol.

A dry mouth and a nagging headache are classic symptoms of dehydration.

As a rule of thumb, experts recommend drinking one full glass of water for every alcoholic beverage that you consume.

Bear in mind to drink moderately, and if you’re driving, definitely stick to non-alcoholic beverages.

If you do have one too many alcoholic beverages, have a glass of warm water with lemon or a green tea the next morning.

This will help to activate your system and begin any detoxification process needed.

Also, just prior to going out, have something like some yoghurt and a banana – the protein contained in them slows down stomach digestion, and the potassium will assist in balancing out any salty foods that might exacerbate dehydration.

Many Christmas treats and snacks are full of salt or sugar, which tends to throw your metabolism completely out of balance (including when it come to alcohol), so nibble instead of gobble.

Chew gum after meals

If you chew gum after tucking into your meal, that minty fresh taste and the action of chewing will help you avoid going back for more helpings, even if you’re still hungry.

A few small studies have shown that chewing gum can help reduce cravings and appetite, as well as shave calories.

Research conducted by the University of Rhode Island, United States, found that people who chewed gum every day consumed 68 fewer calories and did not bingeeat later.

Plus, gum chewers actually burned about 5% more calories than non-gum chewers.

Go ahead, chew gum when you have the urge to snack and right after your meals to prevent mindless munching.

However, note that chewing gum can also lead to swallowing air, which can cause bloating, so if you are prone to getting “wind” in your tummy, ignore this tip.

Get out of the house

Fret not if you don’t receive any invitations this year as many are struggling to make ends meet.

Allocate time for family and perhaps plan some outdoor activities that do not involve costs.

Maybe a hike in the forest, a picnic in the park, a frolic in the playground or a walk about town – if the weather permits.

All these will help burn calories while keeping the children entertained.

Squeeze in some strength training

Staying active and maintaining a semblance of an exercise routine may seem like an impossible task with a calendar full of holiday parties and family obligations. But it can be done.

Plan to exercise in the morning before starting your day, when there are minimal distractions.

To maintain the muscle mass that you’ve worked so hard to build, perform your strength-training exercises as you can burn just as many calories as a cardiovascular workout in a shorter span of time. No weights?

No problem, just use your own bodyweight – 20 minutes daily or every other day is enough during this period.

Here are some examples of exercises you can do:

> One-minute jumping jacks and/or marching on the spot with knees high (to warm up).

> Twenty parallel squats.

> Twenty walking lunges.

> A one-minute plank.

> Ten push-ups.

> Twenty bicycle crunches.

> Twenty tricep dips.

> Twenty duck squats (with legs separated and feet turned out).

Opting for meat dishes at the parties and buffets might even mean you will gain some extra muscle – definitely much better than gaining some extra fat!

So, stay healthy, indulge a little bit, keep your face masks on in crowded areas, and as Ella Fitzgerald would sing, Have yourself a merry little Christmas.

See you next year!

RevMathi urugappan is a certified fitness trainer who tries to battle gravity and continues to dance to express herself artistically and nourish her soul. For more information, email starhealth@thestar.com. my. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information. 

  The Star Malaysia 25 Dec 2022REVATHI MURUGAPPAN starhealth@thestar.com.my

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It's a Dumb Scandal, But Taxing Christmas Trees Is Also Dumb

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Timothy B. Lee, Forbe Contributor

My Twitter feed is atwitter today over this post about the Obama administration’s proposal to assess a 15-cent tax on Christmas tree sales. The tax would go to a fund that the Christmas tree industry would use to run advertising promoting Christmas trees. After some negative publicity, the USDA says it’s delaying implementation of the tax.

Obviously, the “war on Christmas” spin some conservatives have been giving this story is ridiculous. As various folks have pointed out, this concept has been under discussion since the Bush administration, it’s supported by most Christmas tree growers, and I doubt President Obama had anything to do with it.

Still, I’ve been disappointed by the number of people on the left who have gone beyond rebutting idiotic partisan spin to actually defend the proposal on its merits. For example, several people have linked to this piece:

According to a statement issued by the group, there are at least 18 programs already in effect for other agricultural commodities under the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996.

“This program was requested by the industry in 2009 and has gone through two industrywide comment periods during which 565 comments were submitted from interested parties,” the National Christmas Tree Association said in a statement, adding that nearly 90 percent of the state and multi-state associations who commented on the program supported it.

“The program is designed to benefit the industry and will be funded by the growers at a rate of 15 cents per tree sold,” the release states. “The program is not expected to have any impact on the final price consumers pay for their Christmas tree.”

But some conservatives aren’t letting the facts get in the way of an awesome headline.

The “18 programs” referred to here are industries like milk, dairy, and eggs where taxes are levied to support generic ad campaigns like the dairy industry’s famous “Got Milk” spots. These campaigns are a waste of money, and I see no reason for the government to be levying the taxes to support them. Such campaigns are particularly unfair to niche producers who seek to differentiate their products from those of larger producers, but are nevertheless forced to pay for ads that promote milk (or beef, eggs, etc) as a generic commodity.

Nothing’s stopping the Christmas tree growers who support these ads from pooling their money and buying as many ads as they like. But why should a majority of growers be able to force the minority to contribute to ads they might not want or even agree with?

It’s also hard to take seriously the claim that these taxes won’t raise consumer prices. The economics here are pretty simple: when you tax a product on a per-item basis, producers usually pass the higher costs on to consumers. This is true whether the tax is formally assessed on consumers (as sales taxes are) or on businesses (like gas and cigarette taxes). Either way, the money ultimately comes out of consumers’ pockets. There’s no reason to think Christmas trees (or milk) are an exception to this general rule.

It’s hard to think of any other context where liberals cite industry support as a justification for an otherwise-indefensible government policy. Obviously, it’s worth pushing back on the idiotic “war on Christmas” spin, but the fact that Republicans are making fools of themselves doesn’t change the fact that Congress really ought to repeal the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996.

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