Exercise Tips for Holiday Health

Fabio Comano, a certified trainer at the American Council on Exercise, recommends plunging in and getting in shape now, knowing that the holidays will bring a few pounds. "Most people tend to put on weight in winter. "It's part of our (biological) survival pattern, a little like animals packing it on for hibernation."

Comano thinks the holidays are stressful enough without loading yourself down with unrealistic exercise goals. "If you exercise 45 minutes a day, you may only be able to do 30 minutes," he says.

• Start the day with deep-breathing and meditating (if you meditate).
  
• Take a walk before a meal, then one after. Or take a walk after dinner but before dessert.
  
• If you bake cookies as gifts, walk them around to the neighbors' houses.
  
• If you exercise in the morning normally, keep up that schedule. Just don't skip.
  
• Buddy up with a family member. Walking is a good time to catch up.
  
• Start some family traditions that are active, such as cross-country skiing.
  
• Create some make-work projects, such as setting the table one piece at a time and returning to the kitchen in between. Or put on some holiday tunes and dance!

Don't stress out about exercise. It's the other way around -- exercise eliminates stress!

The Holiday Survival Guide

The holiday season for many starts with eating to much on Thanksgiving and ends with a hangover from the over zealous New Years Party. It is a great time of the year but for some it is not as joyful. For some this is a blue or depressing time of the year.

Shaking Things Up

If someone died and you have always spent Christmas Eve with them, don't just stay home and think about it. When a special tradition has ended, it is time to start a new one. You could start have an annul dinner with some friends or maybe go to church. It is important to create a new tradition. If you always had great expectations for your holiday and now you have lost that feeling, it is important to get them back. Start something new, that you can look forward to for years to come. You only live once, make the best of it.