Corporate Wellness Watch: December 2006

FWAW 2006 Healthy Holiday Tips

We are midway through December, the month of overeating and underexercising. Once again this year, we have compiled our favorite holiday wellness tips from some of the FW@W fitness staff to help you navigate the holiday season.

"If the buffet table is your passion during the holidays, try to take sample sizes of the items you like and make your plate colorful by including vegetable and fruit choices. Try not to eat standing up. You'll tend to eat faster and because you don't "savor the flavor" like you would sitting down, your stomach doesn't get a chance to feel full. This will lead you back to the buffet table for a second helping."
Debbie Harlow, Wellness Coordinator, Fresenius Medical Care and Millennium Pharmaceuticals

"It is particularly important to watch what you eat this time of year with all the added temptations. However, let’s face it, we want to (and should be able to) enjoy some of the great treats. Maintaining cardiovascular exercise during the holidays is crucial to counteract any extra calories we are taking in. Once January comes, you’ll be glad you did and you will not feel like you are starting from scratch! Exercise is a great habit that you don't want to lose, any time of the year."
Ken Sokol, Fitness Center Manager, Dunkin Brands

"Holidays can be many things: fun, exciting, overindulgent, and stressful to name a few. Take a few moments during your day to experience your breath. Inhale deeply, filling your belly, lower lungs, midlungs, upper lungs and chest. Slowly push the breath out of your upper lungs, mid-lungs, lower lungs and belly. Try this for 4 to 6 cycles. It will help to clear your mind and get you focused."
Deb Sharkey, Fitness Director, BBN Technologies

"Ask for snowshoes as a holiday gift. Don't sit inside this winter and let the weather dictate your activity, get outdoors and fight the winter "blahs" with snowshoeing. Snowshoeing is a great core body strengthening workout plus you can burn twice as many calories as you would hiking. The added benefit of snowshoeing is that you can snowshoe anywhere there are a few inches of snow on the ground. This allows you to go places on your snowshoes that you just can’t get to in your hiking boots and it is very affordable – just step out into your backyard and go, no lift ticket needed."
Cindi Harne, Fitness Center Manager, The MathWorks

"Take a short break – be it 5, 15 or 30 minutes- before going to bed to sit alone quietly and listen to your favorite holiday music. After a long day at work, holiday baking and cooking, or shopping at the mall, this quiet time offers you a way to decompress before turning into bed. Try not to go over your to do list! The peace and quiet will be a welcome change from your hectic day and give you the chance to remember what the holidays are truly about and be thankful for all that you have. Relish this holiday season with quality time spent with your family and friends."
Kim Manning, FWAW Health Promotion Director

The bottom line is eat, drink and be merry…in moderation….and keep your body moving to work off those calories!