Thanksgiving is Over … Get Back to Your Routine (and the Treadmill?)

The first Monday after Thanksgiving. Ugh. You know what that means … everyone is trying to make up for the long weekend full of indiscretions (I may be guilty of consuming four pieces of pie in a span of two days…). I always think it’s funny how people suddenly resurface after a food-heavy holiday.

And it also makes me start to think that we are a mere six weeks away from several months of insanity. The New Year’s rush is just around the corner … and yes, just knowing that it’s coming has me anxious already.

That said …  don’t use the holiday season, now in full swing, as an excuse to undo all the good you have done for yourself throughout the rest of the year. If you haven’t made it back into your workout schedule after the long holiday weekend, there is no better time than now. What can you do in addition to adding a few minutes onto your cardio? Here are a few ideas:

• Drink more water. It’ll flush any of the bad stuff still floating around in your system, and keep your full (remember, sometimes “hunger” is actually dehydration). And make it ice cold – it forces your body to work just a little harder to warm it up to body temperature.
• Get back on your healthy eating plan! Vegetables, fruits, lean protein – all great options to help your body get back to normal after an overindulgence or two during the holiday weekend.
• Hit the gym. Sweat out the extra calories you took in over the last few days – it’ll do double duty, helping you get past any stress that too much family and travel may have bogged you down with, too.

As a final note … I’m convinced I’m not a normal person. I stepped on the scale yesterday morning, to find myself a full three pounds lighter than I was before I headed to the grandparents’ house on Thursday. Not that I’m complaining – if eating pie can, in fact, lead to quick weight loss, I’ll gladly pick up my fork!