This article is about choosing foods wisely for a fit Thanksgiving and at home workouts to keep fitness up through the holidays. This can also be applied to the Christmas Holidays and Halloween!

This is the season where sweets and treats are prevalent, tempting and in your face at the office, at home, at friends, at the bank and just about everywhere. We are hit with a whammy every few weeks from here until the New Year making it harder to stick with an exercise regimen and proper diet. Family gatherings and holiday travel make it sometimes difficult to continue training especially if you do not go somewhere with gym access. All these holidays revolve around good, rich and yummy foods which you want to and should partake in especially if you have been exercising and eating right diligently all year round. The key is portion control on the rich and sweet foods plus consideration to the fact that it is not just one meal you will be attending that’ll include these foods so portions control is stressed even more.

It is easier to control a meal if you are the one hosting, making it easy for you to use healthier alternatives which everyone will enjoy. This is a great way to teach your guests some tips so that they can take hold and use them for their own entertaining. Passing greetings this season is a blessing but teaching some healthy meal tips can save lives and help your guests with their or heath improvements. Health issues such as hypertension, diabetes and the like are easily remedies with lifestyle change in the diet but can be hard. By trying the foods you can clinch them, and then you can teach them how easy it can be to implement these new healthy foods because if they like it they will ask you about the recipe.

Choices that are lower fat and substitutes can be tastier than the original item. Using no fat plain yogurt in place of sour cream and mayonnaise can lower the fat of items such as mashed potato, coleslaw and other cold salads. Even egg and tuna salad are excellent done this way. Salad dressing can also benefit from the use of yogurt. I like to use lemons, grainy mustard and yogurt for a simple yet tasty, creamy salad dressing and you can even use this on top of a baked potato.

Vegetable pate, olive tapenade, bruschetta and chopped, marinated roasted veggies make for fast and easy finger foods, appetizers and hors d’oeuvres. An alternative to crackers is bagel chips, rye chips and Raincoast chips (this is a brand, one of their items is made with olives, honey, figs and seeds, very nutritious) are all made from lower carb and lower fat choices and are double baked to be a crisp.

Fresh veggies are always present at gatherings and with good reason. The dressing I mentioned above is a good dip for these veggies. Choose dark green and bright colored vegetables which are full of cancer fighting phytochemicals.

When visiting, make sure to pick and choose the most nutritious items then find a few of the rich and or sweet items to try out but choose smaller portions so that you can enjoy more than one but do not go overboard and this way you can try some at your next outing as well.. Alternatively if there is one item in particular you like best and can forfeit all other sweet and rich foods for, then get a nice serving of that and enjoy your treat! You can do this at each outing, within reason of course.

Whether you cooking or being cooked for, your time will be limited and the more the social activities you do with higher frequency during the holidays the more important it is to get in some type of exercise each day even if only in small spurts.

The best idea is to get up from bed 15-30 minutes early and get the workout done first. For those with fat loss needs you will want to go for 30 minutes with 15 for weights and 15 for cardio.

The cardio portion can be 15 minutes of a jog or if you wish to stay indoors, you can try 5 minutes stepping using any stair case and a bottom step or do the stairs up and down for 5 minutes followed by a series of 2 minutes jogging on the spot followed by 2 minutes jumping jacks and 2 minutes skipping with or without a rope. For the last 4 minutes you would march on the spot slowing the movement down each minute until you are done and can stretch.

The 15 minutes of weight bearing work is comprised of 2 sets of 20 pushups/knee pushups/chair pushups (depending on your fitness level), 2 sets of 20 crunches, 2 sets of 20 horizontal chin ups, 2 sets of 20 tricep dips, and 2 sets of 20 overhead presses using dumbbells or even water bottles if you have no equipment accessible to you.

Do these 6 times per week with a day off during your holiday and busier weeks. It is a very light workout so there is no fear of overtraining during this program. You can also split up the cardio and weight bearing into 2 different times of the day if you need. The sweat you get from the cardio is needed so maybe save this for pre shower time!

By Linda Cusmano

Read more on the Weight Watchers website.

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In order to maintain proper nutrition, it is important to have the best foods available to you. It is important to eat from the major food categories, i.e. protein, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans/legumes and fats.

There are many protein sources to choose from including fish, chicken and beef. Other protein sources are sometimes hidden in whole-wheat pasta, beans and some cereals. It is important to read packaged food labels in order to discover hidden protein sources.

For vegetarians, other sources of protein include soy products, meat substitutes, lentils, nuts and items from the other categories like legumes and whole grains. Eating foods rich in vitamin C such as strawberries, oranges and the like at the same time as non-animal protein helps the body absorb iron.

Here are my favorites or my best of the best.

Best Fruits:

• Apples – Remember the saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away? At an economical price and readily available in your grocery store, apples put needed fiber, vitamin C and potassium into your day.
• Blueberries – These berries are rich in vitamins C, B complex, A and E. They also help provide iron, copper, selenium and zinc which are beneficial in building the immune system.

Best Protein:

• Tuna Fish – This fish is packed with protein and a good source of vitamin D. Although information about the benefits are seemingly still being discovered, tuna fish also has essential omega-3 fatty acids. I love a tuna fish sandwich – just don’t have too many as there are low levels of methylmercury.
• Salmon – Salmon is rich in color and flavor. Along with that good news, salmon gives us a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. So when you can, ask for wild salmon instead of farm raised.

Best Dairy Products:

• Yogurt – A great source of calcium, protein and active cultures, which are important for general immune health and metabolism of protein, fat, carbohydrates.
• Fat Free Milk – An excellent source of calcium, vitamins, and protein with little fat and cholesterol.

Best Vegetables:

• Broccoli – Plenty of vitamin C, carotenoids that enhance the function of the immune system, and folic acid which helps produce healthy red blood cells and prevent anemia.
• Grape Tomatoes – They’re packed with vitamins C and A, some fiber and great taste with a touch of natural sweetness.

Best Legumes:

• Lentils – These legumes or beans add protein, fiber, iron, magnesium and potassium to your diet.
• Black Beans – These beans provide protein, vitamin B and iron. You can add black beans to salads, soups or burritos to add extra flavor and essential vitamins and minerals at low cost and caloric value.

Nell’s Favorites and Also Best Bets:
100%, No Sugar Added Cranberry Juice

I must admit I’m a sucker for this juice! Just make sure you purchase the 100% no sugar added version of this juice when at your local market or grocery store. Providing a cleansing effect on your kidneys and some vitamin C, this juice could be more beneficial than orange juice.

Grapes
My absolute favorite sweet substitute, hunger killer and all around convenient snack! Not only are grapes a good source of vitamins A, C and B6 they also provide minerals such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and selenium, as well as small amounts of copper, manganese, and zinc. They even provide get some fiber and protein. I’m in love!

So when you go to the market or grocery store, keep these items in mind. They’ll keep you full and healthy. And remember, I’m pulling for you!

By Nell Ellis

Read the original article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/metabolism/WT00006/METHOD=print .

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