Thanksgiving tips

Thanksgiving just comes around once per year, so why not feel free to binge on the food? Since putting on weight during the Christmas season is a national past-time. After a seemingly endless amount of time after year, the majority of us pack on in any event a pound (some more) during the special seasons - and keep the additional weight forever.

Be that as it may, Thanksgiving doesn't need to disrupt your weight.  With some pre planning, you can fulfill your longing for customary top choices and still appreciate a righteous Thanksgiving feast. 

1. Get Active

Make a calorie shortfall by practicing to consume off additional calories before you ever enjoy your meal. Eat less and practice more is the triumphant recipe to counteract weight gain during the special seasons. Increment your means or stretch your wellness schedule the weeks ahead and particularly the day of the dining experience.

Make wellness a priority. Go for a stroll after supper.

2. Have Breakfast

While you may think it bodes well to set aside calories for the large supper,  eating a little food in the first part of the day can give you more command over your craving. Start your day with a little however fulfilling breakfast -, for example, an egg with a cut of entire wheat toast, or a bowl of entire grain oat with low-fat milk - so you won't starve when you land at the social occasion.

Eating a nutritious meal with protein and fiber before you show up offers some relief from your hunger and enables you to be all the more segregating in your food and refreshment decisions.

3. Help Up

Regardless of whether you are facilitating Thanksgiving supper or carrying a couple of dishes to share, make your plans more advantageous with less fat, sugar, and calories. There is more sugar and fat in many plans than is required, and nobody will see the distinction in the event that you skim calories by utilizing lower calorie fixings.

Have a go at utilizing without fat chicken juices to treat the turkey and make sauce.  You can likewise attempt plain yogurt or without fat harsh cream in smooth plunges, pureed potatoes, and meals.

4. Police Your Portions

Thanksgiving tables are plentiful and lovely shows of customary family top choices. Before you fill your plate, overview the smorgasbord table and choose what you will pick. At that point select sensible measured parts of food you can't live without.

Try not to squander your calories on foods that you can have throughout the entire year. Fill your plate with little parts of occasion top choices that lone come around once every year so you can appreciate alluring, conventional food.

5. Avoid the Seconds

Attempt to not give into the impulse to return for second helpings. Remains are vastly improved the following day, and in the event that you confine yourself to one plate, you are less inclined to indulge and have more space for a scrumptious sweet. Pick the best wagers on the smorgasbord. While every one of us has our very own top picks.
White turkey meat, plain vegetables, simmered sweet potatoes, pureed potatoes, sauce, and pumpkin pie will in general be the best wagers since they are lower in fat and calories. In any case, in the event that you keep your bites little, you can appreciate whatever you like.

6. Gradually Savor

Eating gradually, putting your fork down among chomps, and tasting every significant piece is probably the most straightforward approaches to make the most of your supper and feel happy with one plate brimming with nourishment, specialists state. Picking entire grains, organic products, vegetables, juices based soups, plates of mixed greens, and different nourishments with heaps of water and fiber add to the sentiment of completion.

7. Go Easy on Alcohol

Remember those liquor calories that can include rapidly. Have a glass of wine or a wine spritzer and between mixed beverages, appreciate shimmering water. Along these lines you remain hydrated, limit liquor calories, and remain calm.

8. Be Realistic

The Christmas season is a period for festivity. With occupied timetables thus numerous additional allurements, this is a decent time to make progress toward weight management rather than weight reduction.


9. Concentrate on Family and Friends

Thanksgiving isn't just about the heavenly abundance of food. It's an opportunity to be with loved ones. The headliner ought to be loved ones mingling, getting to know each other, not exactly what is on the smorgasbord.

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!
Jessica Bailey

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Holiday Fitness and Health Tips

It’s the holiday season but don’t let your good intentions to be healthy go to the way side. I realize there are lots of parties filled with food so you need to make a plan. Plan your strategy now to maintain your fitness when life gets hectic.  Here are some easy tips to help you out this season:

Make movement a daily habit.  Consistency is the key. I have said this for years but I really do believe and practice what I preach. Moving your body is something your body needs so move it every single day.

Accumulate 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most (at least 5) days of the week.  This one is super easy. Take 2-3 short walks each day. Studies show that that exercise accumulated in short bouts of 10 or 15-minutes offers weight loss and aerobic fitness benefits comparable to those achieved in longer workouts.  
Combat the negative effects of prolonged sitting.  For every hour you’re sitting, get up and move around for five minutes. Walk to the bathroom, walk the hallway or if it’s a nice day, go for a short walk!

Count your steps with your smart phone, pedometer, or other tracking device.  I use this app to help me get 10,000 steps in each day.

Stretch your muscles at the end of the day to discharge tension and get a better night’s sleep. Stretch every day for best results but at minimum 2 or 3 times a week.  

Happy Holidays,

Jessica

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Holiday Food Tips To NOT Gain Weight

The holidays are here but that doesn't mean you have to gain weight. Want to hear some awesome news? On average, Americans gain approximately one to two pounds during the holiday season.  It's not 5lbs like everyone talks about. What you can do to combat the unwanted lbs is to be mindful when eating and plan, plan, plan!

So rule #1: do not skip meals throughout the day as this may result in overeating. It is especially important to have breakfast, as research shows that those who eat this important morning meal tend to consume fewer calories throughout the day. Include lots of fiber in your diet by eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Pay attention to the portion size of everything you eat. When you eat large portions of foods that are perceived as healthy you can run into some problems.  It's important to include nutrient-rich foods in your diet, but also remember that these foods have calories as well and should be eaten in moderation. Using this approach at the holiday dinner table will allow you to maintain a healthful eating plan — one that can also include dessert....an appropriate size dessert!

Try filling your plate with vegetables and salad before going to the entrees and desserts. Eating a salad before your meal can help you eat fewer calories overall. Eat slowly and savor every bite, and before you go back for seconds wait 10 minutes to see if you really are still hungry. I always eat my veggies first so I'm guaranteed to get my vegetable intake in.

Finally, after dinner, get some physical activity. I love taking a walk or just being active.

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Love,

Jessica

You are beautiful

It's holiday season, for real now. AKA, my favorite time of year. I can listen to holiday music without getting dirty looks from anyone. The truth is, I've been listening since October and my husband is not a fan of me doing so.  As I write this, I'm sipping a hot beverage from a Starbucks holiday cup, making my wish list and putting together my "to buy" list.

The best way to “be” beautiful is to feel beautiful. And the best way to feel beautiful is start from within.

This isn’t as simple as getting that pair of boots every girl has this season or having your significant other tell you you’re beautiful every day or wearing makeup. It takes even more work and effort than that, but it’s work within yourself.  Years of therapy has taught me that when I feel healthy and comfortable with who I am, that’s when I feel the most beautiful.

We’ve all heard that eating healthy is a great way to feel amazing, but what about drinking healthy?! Drinking water is not only important to bodily functions and staying hydrated for our favorite activities, but keeps the skin glowing. You literally glow from the inside out. So drink your H2O. No one expects you to pass on holiday cocktails this week but if you are going to partake, drink water in between your "drinks."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jessica Bailey

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Memorial Day Workout!

My Memorial Day workout this year will be done outside to celebrate the sun and warm weather. This routine is done using just your body weight. You need enough open space so you can jump, squat and lie down without hitting into anything.

Start with exercise 1 for 1 rep, then do exercise 2 for 2 reps and go back to exercise 1 for 1 rep, then exercise 3 for 3 reps, then 3 for 3, 2 for 2, 1 for 1 and so on! These are the exercises I chose:

1. Squat

An oldie but goodie. I’ve talked about this one quite a bit. Just remember that The knee should always follow the toe. Have your toes slightly pointed out in order to track the knee properly.

2. Pistols aka one legged squat

Stand holding your arms straight out in front of your body and raise your right leg off the floor. Push your hips back and lower your body as far as you can. Pause, then push your body back to the starting position. Stand near a chair just in case you loose your balance.

3. Triceps press up

Start with legs extended, toes on the floor or on your knees, hands on the floor with arms extended underneath shoulders. Place your hands together with your index fingers touching and your thumbs touching.

Slowly bend elbows and lower body to floor with the chest almost touching the hands. Remain in proper alignment with abdominals held in tight. Exhale on exertion. Repeat for 8 times. Progress to 3 sets of 8 times.

4. Jumping lunges

Center your right foot, with your knee aligned over your toes. Bend slightly forward with your back straight and your bottom sticking out a little. Take a breath, push against the floor and jump up and switch legs, landing with your left foot centered and your right foot in the behind the left. Rest for a beat and then jump again and switch legs.

5. V-sit ups

Sit with your feet lifted off the floor, knees bent into your chest, hands clasped behind your head. Lean back and extend both legs straight out, touching your back to the floor but keeping your head and shoulders off the ground. Sit back up and return to your start position. That's one rep. Repeat as many times as you can in a row for one minute.

Be sure to brace your abs during this entire move and try not to use momentum to come up and down. If it’s too tough to do with the legs extended, keep your knees bent as you lower and sit up.

6. Push ups

Push Ups are effective. You are lifting and lowering your body weight and by using proper form—stomach pulled in toward your back, hands in line with your shoulders—this move becomes a full body exercise that goes beyond your chest to work your abs, shoulders, and upper back.

7. Jumping squats

Stand with your feet slightly apart with your knees aligned over your toes. Bend from the hips to lower your rear until you are in a full squat, keeping your back straight. Keep your knees aligned; don't let them fall open. Push down with your heels and explode up into the air. Don't let your knees hyper extend; keep them slightly bent. Go right back into a full squat when you land and repeat. Do no more than one set of five repetitions because you do not want to work to fatigue with this exercise.

8. Supermans

If you want a flat, sexy stomach, shift your focus away from your core every once in a while and train your lower back. Lay flat on your stomach with your arms extended in front of you in the shape of the letter X. Lift both your arms and legs at the same time, as if you were flying, and contract the lower back. Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on how "super" you're feeling

9. Burpee

By combining squat thrusts with a return to standing in between each rep, the burpee is the ultimate full-body exercise. Just one seemingly simple movement challenges the muscles in your chest, arms, thighs, hamstrings, and abs. And because you're using your full body when doing burpees, it's one of the best exercises to burn fat.

Make your burpees more challenging by adding in a push up before the squat thrust and/or a tuck jump when you come back up to your feet.

10. Mountain climbers

Not sure why this one is called a Mountain Climber. No one climbs a mountain in this position. It’s more like a sprinter getting ready to take off from her block. Still, there's no denying the power of this exercise that challenges your shoulders and quads and elevates your heart rate. Assume the sprinter starting position—hands on the ground, rear up in the air and one leg bent toward your chest. Alternate which leg is forward, only touching your front toe to the ground before quickly switching sides.

Tip: Put your timer/watch on the ground between your hands, because you won't be able to look at your wrist or up at a clock without breaking your rhythm.

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