Staying fit and trim is largely about consistency. To maintain your exercise habit during the hectic holiday season, avoid the all-or-nothing thought. It’s like any time that your life is interrupted by outside circumstances. But the advantage of the holidays is that you can predict—and plan for—much of the disruption.

Attempting to maintain your usual routine can lead to frustration and the ultimate abandonment of exercise for weeks. The result is a decline in fitness and energy levels, and sometimes a rise in weight. Instead, plan to stay fit and trim during the holiday season:

• Decide on a realistic amount of exercise you can fit in over the next several weeks, adjusting the number and length of sessions as necessary. Schedule it in your calendar and honor exercise like any other appointment.
• Are you bombarded with offers of parties and sundry gatherings during the holidays? If your exercise suffers, consider drawing boundaries. Over-committing impacts more than your exercise program—you’re at risk of becoming sick or run-down.
• On days you can’t fit in a workout, wear a pedometer and strive for a minimum number of steps.
• If reducing exercise time, maximize results:
  • Strength training : do multi-joint exercises (e.g. lunges and pushups) over single-joint exercises (i.e. biceps curls and leg extensions)—this way you work more muscle groups in less time. If you’re advanced, try combining exercises such as a shoulder press simultaneously with a lunge (use less weight than you would for each individual exercise). Doing pushups with your legs on an exercise ball recruits several muscles groups (chest, shoulders, triceps, abdominals, obliques).
  • Cardiovascular : Do interval workouts. Here’s a 20-minute example: warm up for 2 minutes, then alternate 4 series of 2-minute high intensity / 2-minute moderate intensity exercise for a total of 16 minutes. Cool down for 2 minutes. If 2 minutes of high-intensity exercise is beyond your fitness level, decrease it to 1-minute or 30-seconds and lengthen the moderate exercise time, still keeping to a total 20 minutes.

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I am a big advocate of viewing exercise as “I get to” rather than “I have to” – it fits well with my philosophy that we do not have to do anything. We have a choice. And, which makes you feel better? (No one likes to have to do anything.)

During this month of Thanksgiving, look back over this year – or the past several years – and identify what makes you grateful about your exercise program. Does it give you strength to do daily activities that would otherwise be difficult? Is your energy higher throughout each day? Have you participated in a sport that previously you did not have the stamina to do so? Did exercise make a measurable impact on your health in some way (such as bone density, diabetes management, or HDL levels (the “good” cholesterol)?

In health,
Heather Moreno

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When the weather turns cold, try a healthy twist on the comfort food of chili. This recipe reduces the amount of calorie-heavy meat and fat, offers more of the natural phytochemicals in plant foods that protect against a wide range of illnesses, and provides a good dose of dietary fiber, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, and several important minerals.

Chili with Turkey (makes 10 servings)

2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 cups chopped onion
5 garlic cloves as desired, chopped fine
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped coarse
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, or as desired
1 Tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
3 cans (16 oz. each) of 3 different types of beans (kidney, black, garbanzo, etc.) rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn (or canned corn, drained)
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes, with juice
1 cup low-sodium vegetable tomato juice (spiced version, if desired)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 cups diced cooked turkey
Hot sauce, to taste
Reduced-fat sour cream and shredded cheese (optional garnish)

Heat oil in large, deep pot over medium-high heat until hot. Stir in onion, garlic and bell pepper. Lightly sauté until onion is translucent, garlic is golden and bell pepper is softened. Add in chili powder, cayenne, cumin, oregano and cinnamon and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in beans, corn, tomatoes, and juice.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in turkey and simmer an additional 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings, as desired, adding more salt, pepper and hot sauce.

Serve accompanied by reduced-fat sour cream and cheese as toppings, to taste.

Per serving: 289 calories, 8 g fat (1 g saturated), 34 g carbohydrate, 22 g protein, 10 g fiber, 560 mg sodium.

Courtesy of the American Institute for Cancer Research.

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