“Workout Wednesday”: What You Can Do on Nov. 26, the Day Before Thanksgiving to Stay Fit throughout the Holiday Season
Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of overindulgence. In many families, the main activities are eating, watching football on TV, feasting on the leftovers, and taking a nap. But it can also signal the start of an unhealthful holiday season – a five-week period in which food, alcohol, parties and stress can lead to weight gain and regret by January 2nd.
But Burr Leonard, founder of The Bar Method and Bar Online wants to change all of that. November 26th, the day before Thanksgiving, has been declared “Workout Wednesday” by the American Council on Exercise. “Americans tend to gain one or two pounds around the holidays and often don’t return to their previous weight, resulting in the extra pounds adding up over the years,” warns Burr. “To avoid weight gain from the high calorie meals of Thanksgiving, Americans can reserve the day before as a time to be as active and healthy as possible.”
Below, Burr shares her tips on planning your Holidays so that you enjoy the festivities and stay fit.
“You want celebrate New Year’s in the same body you had on the day before Thanksgiving,” Burr says. “To that end, nominate the day before Thanksgiving to be “Workout Wednesday,” a day on which you plan your Holidays to be both fun and healthy. First of course, resolve to keep up your diet and exercise routine as much as you can. But with all the candy, cookies and pie around, sticking to this plan can be challenging! To make your goal easier to achieve I’d like to give you my three favorite tips for falling into the Holidays without falling off the wagon.”
1. Take a break from sugar. Sweet foods go straight to your fat cells and make you hungry for more. Remind yourself that sugar wasn’t even a big part of the first Thanksgiving in the 1860s. People back then consumed less than one tenth of the sugar we do now. So don’t be obligated to load up on sugar cookies and pumpkin pie to honor a tradition of the Season. In any case, the less sugary foods you can get away with not putting into your body, more energy and high spirits you’ll have to dedicate to celebrating.
2. Sleep a lot! There’s no end to parties leading up to the actual Holiday, and we’re expected to go to work however late we stayed up the night before. Research shows that lack of sleep can cause weight gain by compelling our bodies to compensate for our low energy with more and more food. So, “settle your brains for a long winter’s nap” every night, or sleep in after a late one.
3. Take Bar Method mini-classes.
You’ll be super-busy during this season, and exercise can fall by the wayside. A great way to sustain your fitness amongst the hustle and bustle is to take one or two Bar Online mini-classes a day. They’re fun to do and will energize you with heart-thumping body-sculpting workouts that are only 20 minutes long. You can take one in the morning, and invite your party friends to join you for another one before you all go for the cocktails and hors d’eouvres.
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