A holiday meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner can easily top 2500 calories - that’s probably more than you need in a whole day. You might be able to get away with eating one meal like that over the holidays, but once you add more dinners and holiday parties, your diet can get out of control pretty quickly. It is no wonder many people start to gain weight this time of year.

Why not be proactive this year? Rather than falling into the same old holiday diet traps, take some control. Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, the author of The F-Factor Diet has some tips to keep your Thanksgiving and any holiday meal under control.
Holiday meals don’t have to pack such a high calorie punch. Simple makeover tips can lighten a meal and keep the taste just as good. Holiday Meal Makeover with Tanya’s

Tips…

Baked Turkey

• Choose a plain bird over a self-basting bird to lower the sodium content
• To ensure a moist bird, bake un-stuffed, leave the skin on while roasting and remove from the oven when internal temperature reaches 170 degrees in the breast

Gravy

• Use a gravy cup or refrigerate the pan juices (to harden the fat) and skim the fat off before making gravy
• Save around 656 grams of fat per cup!
Candied Yams
• Leave out the margarine and marshmallows
• Sweeten with fruit juice, such as apple and flavor with cinnamon
Green Bean Casserole
• Cook fresh green beans with chunks of potatoes instead of cream soup
• Top with almonds instead of fried onion rings
Mashed Potatoes
• Use skim milk, roasted garlic, and a little parmesan cheese instead of whole milk and butter
Bread
• Serve smaller pieces or omit it altogether

Pay Attention to Your Plate

• Imagine your plate divided into thirds
• Use the 1st third to fan out white meat turkey, no skin
• Use the 2nd third for salad and low-fat vegetables.
• Finally, the last third is for all the starches (sweet potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce)

How Do You Expect Me To Stay in Shape Over The Holidays?

Just do it! J It’s that simple and here’s how!
I know that it’s already difficult to fit in an exercise program when you have nothing better to do in a normal day, then when you add in the Holidays your priorities for exercise go right to the bottom of the list. Heck, I would go as far to say that it drops off most peoples list all together if it was even on it.

So, let’s say that staying healthy and fit over the holidays is on your priority list. First, just so I’m clear we don’t want to add more stress to the already hectic holiday season by trying to stay on your regular exercise program. It is however important to stay active, not just for your health, but also for your sanity!

Being active over your holiday season will give you more energy, help reduce stress and help offset some of the extra calories that you will be consuming.
So, what is it going to take for you to find that balance? Well, I’ve assembled some helpful tips for your Happy Holiday Exercise pleasure! J

TIP #1 Be Prepared!

Hey, it’s tip number one for a reason! This is the most important thing. Make sure that you plan for any trips that you are taking. Remember, you don’t want this to be added stress and we all know what happens when we are not prepared for something. Check the area where you are going to be for any trails or parks where you can walk or run. Use the internet, it’s an amazing tool and you can find anything on there!

Search local gym listings. Call them and get there holiday hours and plan your workouts even before you leave. Don’t make the mistake of saying “ Oh….I’ll squeeze it in somewhere!” This is your health, it’s as important as anything else that you are doing. Oh….and there is no reason to feel guilty for taking care of yourself either, so that’s not an excuse!

Staying in a hotel? Call them to see what kind of fitness facility they have. Most hotels now days have fitness centers in them. They might not be as great as your gym, but remember the key is to stay active. It doesn’t have to be the Taj Mahal of gyms ( is that how you spell that?)!

TIP # 2 Use your body!

When’s the last time you did an all out, high intensity body weight workout? That’s right, body weight! People everywhere seem to forget about these exercises, but yet they yield some phenomenal results, not to mention they’re great for on the go!

Here’s a body weight circuit for on the go! Push ups, Overhead Squats (just holding your hands over top of your head, if you want to hold something to add weight, that’s great) Toe touches ( Ly on your back with your feet straight up in the air, reach and touch your toes while contracting your abs.) Do each of these to failure moving from one exercise to the next with little to no rest for 5 sets. You’ll get a workout!

TIP # 3 Get Out Of Your Head!

Yeah, that’s right get out of your head. You will find a million reasons why you can’t exercise over the holidays if you want to. The key is to make the decision and just do it! It’s your health, it’s important, it’s okay! What it is really going to come down to is how willing are you and is your health important enough to YOU?

There are all kinds of exercises from using bands, lunges, squats, push ups, crunches in front of the tv and the list goes on and on. How about, volunteering to shovel snow, rake some leaves, play with kids, or just jogging or walking everyday!

If you still have questions and you’re not sure what to do, but you are committed, then go to http://www.AskPatKing.com and I’ll be happy to answer those questions for you!
Happy Holidays To You!

Many people think about building muscles as abandoning life outside the gym and devoting hours in the gym like a monk in a monastery. Perhaps the only way to chisel the body into a hot muscular physique is by toiling hour by hour over the rusty iron day in, day out and year in, year out.

This need not be so. Although hard work is truly required, extreme fitness demands one to be a slave of the iron weights. Full-body work outs can make one progress and it easily fits in one’s schedule. This is very convenient if one is looking forward to achieving extreme fitness but finds it hard to hold on to a single work out routine.

Genuine full-body work outs done by athletes with an aim in mind makes for maximum muscle contraction using heavy weights, makes room for full recovery so one can actually grow and continue to train hard plus it also prevents burnout which is inevitable due to excess training.

So if one is ready for extreme fitness, here is all there is to know about full body work out:

Full-body work out is a time saver. The biggest plus about having the whole body trained all at once is probably having to go to the gym less frequently; perhaps around two to three times for every seven days would be enough.

Another advantage of working out the entire body all at once is that one need not spend two or more hours of strenuous exercise in the gym for every session; one only spends one hour in the gym for every session. So that’s just three to four hours per week in the gym right? With full-body work outs, it is all about the quality of exercise one does for session and not the quantity, nor even the amount of time you allot per session.

Full-body work out boosts the cardiovascular system for extreme fitness. One must allot two to four sets for every body part into the one hour session. Jam packed with exercising, each one hour session then gets the heart and the rest of the cardiovasular system pumping and up to speed in a flash.

Now feeling pumped up, next find out what rules does one have to follow when engaging in full-body work outs:

Training commences only once every two to three days. This is so easy isn’t it? What is great about this is that there is time spared during rest days so that one can indulge in a few cardio exercise sessions instead of depending on cardio execises one normally does at the end of each work out session which after all, are not at all very effective.

Heavy lifting is strongly advised. Contrary to popular belief, especially among athletes. It is not true that it is good to get trapped on training lightly than one actually could so as to conserve energy for the other body parts that will come later in the routine. What is true is that one cannot achieve optimal progress if one is not training heavy, no matter which program that person is doing.

One exercise only per muscle group. This is very easy to follow and is also important. Doing basic exercises which are also intense means you do not have to do another different exercise for that body part.

Keep work out short. Resistance training affects the natural homones of the body connected to muscle building. Intense exercising boosts the testosterone levels and long work outs increase those of catabolic cortisol. Sixty minutes of work out allows you to get the best of both worlds.

Now with this convenient and powerful work out regimen, one can now truly experience extreme fitness.

There are a hundred lots of home fitness equipment nowadays that are sold in the market. Do not make the mistake in buying something and then regretting why you bought it after a day or two. Home fitness equipments vary and you should always have one good reason to buy it. Don’t believe on everything commercials tell you about the equipment. Some equipment may seem easy to use on television but n fact will not really work for you. Try to ask yourself first of these questions before you grab your wallet and buy that equipment.

Do you need it? The equipment should suit your interests and needs. The activities that you will do with that equipment should be challenging and something to enjoy on. Buying equipment is never a guarantee that you will use it especially if it is something new that makes it harder to use. Make sure that you already know the equipment and that it is something that you already tried in a fitness club. Start from buying small equipments that are aligned to your interests.

Can you afford it? Don’t be fooled with the thought that you will be forced to use something because you spent too much money for it. Expensive equipments are never an assurance that you will use them or that they are effective for you. Always consider how much are you willing to pay for certain equipment. Also ask yourself iif it is worth it. Always check on the quality before you buy equipment. The price may be too low but consider that the quality can also be low. Or it may be expensive but then the quality is not that good. You can try choosing on cheaper alternatives but not sacrificing the quality of the equipment.

You may also want to check out for some used equipments. Most of the time, this is where you find a better deal. You can even find equipments that do not seem to have been used at a very low rate. Or you can find the equipment 3 months old but the price is almost half the original.

Do you have enough space for it? This is often what buyers forget to consider. Try to consider first where to place a treadmill before buying it. Before you buy something, make sure you know where you will place it. Your place may not accommodate the equipment. Plan ahead and make sure that the equipment can be placed in your home without causing any hassle.

Is it safe for you? If you have existing conditions, be sure to check with your doctor to make sure that the equipment will be safe for you. Some equipment may be painful to use and might cause harm to your body. So make sure to try it first be fore you buy it.

It also suggested that you first consider if a gym near you already has that equipment. You can save money by just registering to that gym and use that equipment compared the price you will spend if you will buy that product.

Buying fitness equipments should be bought with consideration. Do not buy by impulse. Always ask the opinion of a professional gym instructor before you buy something.

“Rapid Weight Loss Techniques”

Other than physical appearance weight affects a person in many ways. This could be the overall quality of life, self-esteem, depression, health risks, and physical incapabilities. There are a lot of positive changes once a person experience weight loss. It is for this reason why a lot of people are searching for a weight loss technique that will surely trim down those fats and get a super slim head turner body.

The first thing that an over-weight should do is seek a doctor to recommend the best weight loss regimen. This will be done after a full physical examination, which leads to the determination of proper weight loss technique. And to lose weight fast and effectively four aspects of life should be changed: what to eat, how to eat, behavior and activity level.

Here are fast tips that can change an over-weight’s life:

First: Fast weight loss composes of a multi-faceted technique that consists mindset, exercise, and in other cases, diet supplements. Begin by learning a diet food plan that can easily be accustomed with. Incorporate an exercise plan that allows even at least fifteen minutes a day like brisk walking, running, swimming, and dancing.

Second: Set realistic approaches. The ability to focus and have proper mindset enables someone on a diet to quickly lose those extra pounds. With discipline and proper mind set, a dieter will never be discouraged and lose focus.

Third: Listen as the body speaks. Each and everyone’s body metabolism reacts differently to different fast weight loss programs and plans. Try substituting one program for another to compensate the body’s reaction. Exercise program must be suitable to one’s body, as others are not able to exercise as rigorously as others can. If walking is all that can be done, then walk for this is proven the best exercise. Muscles burn more calories than fats so it’s also best to put on a little muscle and looking good too.

Fourth: Eat more fibers for it makes a person full sooner and stays in the tummy longer, slowing down the rate of digestion. A single serving of whole grain bread moves fat through the digestive system faster. Grains turn into blood sugar that spikes the body’s insulin level. Thus, making the body more energized and ready to tell the body when it should stop burning fats or start storing.

Fifth: Keep away from fried foods especially deep-fried as this contains a great amount of fat. Although fish and chicken appear leaner than beef, this white meat can contain more fat than when a beef is fried. It is recommended for those on strict diet to opt for grilled food as this does not have or contain less amount of fat after the food is cooked.

Sixth: Takes lots of fluid. Drinking at least six to eight glasses of water a day keeps the body refreshed. Since weight loss depends on how the body eliminates body wastes, the body must stay hydrated.

All in all, discipline and consistency is still the best practice and the key to a rapid weight loss success. Light dieting, workout, and right amount of supplementation applied in a regular way everyday will result in faster weight loss than having a massive action only to be followed a return to old habits as this would only lead to gaining more weight than when the weight loss plan has started.