How to find time to exercise

A new year marks a great time to embrace change. Many people do just that by making resolutions designed to improve their lives in the year and years ahead. Resolutions regarding personal health are annually among the most popular changes people hope to make at the dawn of a new year. In fact, a quick scan of annual lists citing the most popular resolutions found that pledges to eat healthier and exercise more can be found at or near the top of such lists.

Though such lists might not have been compiled using the most scientific of methods, it’s no secret that getting healthier and looking better is a goal many people strive for upon the arrival of January 1. Unfortunately, a 2015 report from U.S. News & World Report suggested that 80 percent of resolutions fail, oftentimes as early as February. For those who don’t just want but need to get healthier, failure to live up to a resolution to exercise more can have potentially devastating consequences.

If exercising more is a goal in the year ahead, the following are a few strategies to make that happen.

• Exercise in the early morning. As the day progresses, unforeseen challenges or forgotten commitments have a way of devouring time initially earmarked for exercise. Exercise first thing in the morning before any commitments to work and family hijack the time you have committed to exercising.

• Take on less responsibility. Professionals and parents often cite commitments to work and family as the primary reasons they aren’t getting enough exercise. While those are perfectly reasonable excuses to skip a workout, men and women who recognize the long-term benefits of routine exercise may be compelled to take on less responsibility at work while also making an effort to divvy up responsibilities at home more equitably. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ongoing exercise can reduce risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and some cancers. The CDC also notes that routine exercise strengthens bones and muscles while improving mood. Taking on more responsibility at work might be great for your career, but that may prove a Pyrrhic victory if your long-term health is jeopardized. Parents can discuss with their spouse how to better share responsibilities at home so both moms and dads can get regular exercise.

• Embrace more efficient exercise routines. Rather than working a single muscle group at a time, which can be both time-consuming and boring, men and women can adapt their workout routines to focus on multi-muscle exercises. Work with a personal trainer to make your workout as efficient as possible.

• Schedule your routine each week. Each week is different, so while it may be ideal to establish a workout routine in which you exercise at the same time each day, that’s not always going to be possible. Failing to exercise on a day you had intended to workout can compromise your motivation to workout in the future, so sit down at the beginning of each week to examine your commitments for the days ahead and schedule times to exercise in the next seven days. This can keep you on track and help you avoid the disappointment of missing a workout because life got in the way.

Finding time to exercise is not always so easy, but even the busiest men and women can likely still include workouts in their daily routines.

Strategies to avoid holiday weight gain

Staying fit during the holiday season can be quite challenging, even for the most ardent fitness enthusiasts and disciplined calorie-counters. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, many people are offered a wide assortment of foods, beverages and other indulgences — typically in mass quantities.

According to researchers at Stanford University, although the average person only gains around one pound during the holiday season, quite frequently that pound sticks around, and those extra pounds add up year after year. As a result, it doesn’t take too many years of holiday bundt cakes to gain a considerable amount of weight. Holiday season weight gain is not unique to the United States and Canada. Investigators at Tampere University of Technology in Finland tracked weight gained in the United States, Germany and Japan during those countries’ festive times and found that each country’s participants gained weight, particularly during the holiday season. Annual holiday weight gain can contribute to weight-based problems such as obesity, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

The holiday season might not be the best time to start a diet, but holiday eating does not have to derail healthy lifestyles. The following are ways to avoid holiday weight gain and still enjoy all of the parties, adventures and time spent with friends and family.

• Focus on festivity instead of food. When hosting holiday festivities, make the bulk of the celebration about an activity rather than food. If guests are focused on fun, such as a sing-a-long, dancing or tree-trimming, they may be less likely to overeat.

• Don’t show up starving. Eat a light, healthy snack before participating in any holiday revelry. Hunger pangs may drive one straight to the buffet table.

• Survey your options prior to eating. Guests should scope out the food choices and then make the smartest selections possible. Avoid creamy sauces, greasy foods and those that are heavy on cheese. Fill up on vegetables and then you won’t feel bad about splurging on a dessert.

• Go sparingly on alcohol. People seldom realize how quickly calories from beverages can add up. A 12-ounce glass of beer has about 150 calories, a five ounce glass of red wine has about 125 calories and a 1.5-ounce shot of gin, rum, vodka, whiskey, or tequila has about 100 calories, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Furthermore, alcohol lowers inhibitions, so you may be more likely to overindulge in more spirits or extra food when intoxicated.

• You can’t buy back calories with exercise. Putting in a marathon exercise session the next day probably will not undo the damage done from overeating the night before. Maintain a consistent workout schedule all through the holidays. Holiday weight gain is not inevitable for those who take control and exercise discipline.