HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

9 Ways to Have a Great Holiday Season with Your Eating Plan Intact

By Ben Kallen

The Thanksgiving-to-New Year's holiday season can be a fun time of celebrating with friends and family . . . but if you're not careful, it can turn into a 5-week festival of overeating, too. Not only is this period associated with heavy winter comfort foods, but seasonal treats and big holiday meals can be a minefield for people trying to stick to a fitness plan. It's no wonder so many people end up dieting in January just to make up for their recent excesses.

But as someone committed to gaining and maintaining a fit body, you should know that it is possible to enjoy the season without feeling deprived or looking like a party pooper. Follow these tips, and you can have a fun time and maintain your weight—or end up even leaner than before.

1. Forget the preemptive diet. A new British study found that lots of women crash-diet before the holidays in the expectation that they'll overindulge during the season itself. But your goal should be to learn healthy eating habits that you can stick with over the long term, not to lose weight now just so you can gain it back later. That's likely to lead to a yo-yo dieting cycle, which could lower your metabolism and make fat loss more difficult than ever. Instead, make the decision now that you'll eat reasonable portions later (even on Thanksgiving), and you won't have anything to make up for.

2. Stick to your workout program—or start one. We recently gave you some tips on how to keep up with your fitness plan over the holidays. (See "Stay Fit This Holiday Season" in the Related Articles section below.) Here's another reason why you should: Exercise and eating right go hand in hand. When you're working out, the food you eat goes toward energy and muscle, not fat. And you'll naturally want to eat foods that fuel your body, instead of junk that detracts from your performance. And if you do indulge in occasional treats, your regular workouts will help prevent them from doing much damage.

Remember, you're building a habit of fitness that will last you a lifetime. When better to work on it than the busiest period of the year? You'll learn how to devote time to your own well-being every day, even when you have a lot of other things to do. (Use your fitness program's workout calendar, or WOWY®, our online SuperGym™, for scheduling support.) And when your friends and family see you getting leaner and fitter while they're poking new holes in their belts, you'll be an amazing inspiration.

3. Be careful with comfort foods. When it's cold outside, you may be tempted to cocoon indoors with hot, hearty meals and snacks. This isn't necessarily a problem if you make fitness-friendly choices. (Check out our guides to high-protein winter stews and healthy hot drinks.) But if lousy weather or a lack of sunshine makes you crave carb-heavy dishes, prepare them with healthier carbs such as root vegetables and whole grains, not macaroni or mashed-potato flakes. And make them part of a balanced meal, not the whole thing.

4. Moderate your treats. More than any other time of year, the holiday season is associated with lots of "special" foods—turkey and stuffing, pumpkin pie, candied yams, green-bean casserole, latkes, Christmas cookies, etc. Some of these would put you way off your food plan, even if you managed not to stuff yourself the way so many people do. But others are just fine when eaten in moderation, or can be made much healthier—in fact, you couldn't do much better than a meal of turkey, baked yams, and fresh green beans. (And you can make Pumpkin Pie Shakeology® a daily habit.)

5. Plan ahead for parties. Cocktail parties can be the downfall of any food plan, but they don't have to be. First, if you're expecting to be served treats or hors d'oeuvres instead of healthful food, have a protein-rich snack before you go. It'll prevent you from gobbling up appetizers or sweets out of sheer hunger, and will help keep your blood sugar steady even if you do have a few cookies or crab puffs. If there's a buffet, watch your portions carefully; it's easy to pile on the food, especially if there are a lot of choices you want to try. And if it's a potluck, bring along a dish that's both tasty and healthful—it'll guarantee there's something good for you to eat, and others will probably appreciate it, too.

6. Don't stress out. A recent study at the University of California, San Francisco, confirms what you already know: You're more likely to eat high-calorie comfort foods when you're under chronic stress. And the holidays can be a perfect storm of stressful conditions and sweet treat availability.
You probably can't avoid the annoyances that come with too little time or money, holiday crowds, or lengthy family get-togethers, but you can keep them from getting you down. If you're working out regularly, you already have a leg up on the average person, because exercise helps reduce tension and create an upbeat mood. Help yourself even more by doing something relaxing for a few minutes each day, whether it's yoga, meditation, or simply listening to calming music. And if you do start feeling stressed, stop for a few seconds and take slow, deep breaths instead of reaching for an extra snack.

7. Don't abuse the booze. Yes, a glass of wine or champagne can be a nice way to celebrate the season, and it's pretty much obligatory on New Year's Eve. But too much drinking has all kinds of negative effects: extra calories (which your body will burn while storing carbohydrates), lowered inhibitions (which can lead to overeating, or behavior that will require an apology later on), and a feeling of sluggishness or worse the next day that can derail your fitness plan. As long as you're an adult and don't have problems with alcohol, an occasional drink or two is fine—but if your cheeks regularly get as red as Santa's, eventually your belly will resemble his, too.

8. Avoid the food-gift trap. You could stay away from heavy sweets all year and still find it hard to resist grandma's special fudge, even if the box contains 2 full days' worth of calories and enough sugar to fuel an army of hummingbirds. So what should you do with food gifts? Store-bought baskets of fatty sausages and "cheese food" are fine to regift (or donate to a food bank), but homemade goodies are trickier. You'll have to be polite and enjoy a little, preferably in the giver's presence. Leave the rest out for the family to share, or bring it to work (where it'll probably be devoured quickly). If it's a treat you really love, divide it into small pieces and freeze them in individual baggies, so you won't be tempted to eat it all at once.

9. Give yourself a break. If you do overindulge at some point, don't beat yourself up about it, or decide to give up entirely and start over in January. As long as you have a consistent fitness program, you're unlikely to lose the progress you've made. Just Keep Pushing Play every day, go back to your food plan, and look forward to your healthiest holidays ever.

FITTING IN FAMILY FITNESS

The Parent Trap: Fitting in Time for Fitness

By Denise Michelle Nix

When most people think "exercise," they picture themselves spending an hour hitting P90X® or taking a long run on the beach. Busy parents, with schedules crammed full of carpooling, cooking and, often, work outside the home, find they can't even think of exercise seriously, let alone do it. Sure, once the kids are a little older or maybe on the weekend, but now? Today?

Yes, today. Ideally, you'll make that time for yourself, but when it falls through the cracks, fitness and health experts agree that fitting fitness into parenting just takes a little creativity. "The hard part is parents really have to build the time in," said Eric Thompson, senior director of communications and marketing for the American Heart Association. "Being fit is all about habits—habits you form when you're younger that carry you through life."

However, experts agree, it's never too late to start those healthy habits. Here are ten ways busy parents can fit a little extra fitness into their lives:

Chores
You've gotta cook. You've gotta clean. There are ways to squeeze in some love for your body, while doing those things you love to hate.

1. Anybody can just push a vacuum around, but then that person's not getting the full benefits of this otherwise rueful activity. Instead, use deep knee bends while pushing the vacuum out, being sure to tighten and hold the abdominal muscles and buttocks, keeping your back straight. Be sure to switch the lunging leg every few pushes.

2. How many hours a day does a parent spend standing before a sink of dirty dishes? Make better use of that time by working out your legs with side leg lifts. Begin on two feet, then lift one leg slowly out to the side until it reaches about a 45-degree angle. Hold it there for 5 seconds, using the thigh muscle to keep it aloft. Switch to the other foot. Repeat each leg 10 times.

3. Young children means lots and lots of toys. Of course, we want them to clean up after themselves, but we know who really does most of the picking up. Carry a laundry basket or satchel around and bend both knees deep beside each toy to pick up. While squatting, keep your back straight and tighten your abs. Walking and squatting to each toy can quickly translate into dozens of toning squats.

4. Finding workout tools in the kitchen is just as easy as finding cooking gadgets. Next time you find yourself still before a boiling pot of macaroni and cheese, grab a couple of cans from the pantry and do bicep curls. Grasping the can, leave your elbows still and bent at your side. Keep tension in your upper arm as you curl the can up. Repeat 10 curls on each arm.

With the kids
What does any kid want more than their parents' attention? Here are some ways to stay involved with your kids, get some exercise, and have some fun!

5. There are some obvious things we can do with our children that are both healthy and fun; it's just we sometimes forget or, really, are just too lazy. Walking is often overlooked as an easy and convenient way to exercise, as we're all so quick to jump in our cars for every little errand. It may take more time to walk to the store, but the benefits are worth it. And what better way to burn some extra kid energy? Better yet, have your kids ride their bikes, scooters, or skateboards—and try to keep up!

6. Everyone encourages their kids to get involved in team sports like soccer or baseball . . . but who says they should be the only ones exercising? While your kids are at practice, bring your iPod® and take laps around the field (just be sure to keep an eye on them and offer encouragement!). Not all sports need to be organized. Next time your kids are vying for some parent time, take them outside for a vigorous game of tag or soccer yourself.

7. Don't use dreary weather as an excuse to keep you from moving about; there's plenty to do inside with your kid. Turn on the music and dance! Need some inspiration? Check out Shaun T's Fit Kids® Club or Get Real with Shaun T for families who like to groove. Also, Tony Horton's Tony & the Kids! DVD is a fun and wacky way for the whole family to get fit.

Downtime
The long day of trudging through the grind is over, and who wouldn't be tempted to sink into a comfy couch, remote in hand, and just laze away into the night? But remember that every few minutes of exercise counts, so, sure, take a load off here and there to regroup. Just be sure to take breaks and get moving.

8. Commercial breaks generally last about two minutes. Figuring there are five commercials in any given one-hour show, that's 10 minutes of movement you can sneak in right there. Crunches, push-ups, and jumping jacks are classic exercises you can do just about anywhere at any time. And if you're watching back-to-back shows, squeeze in a 10-Minute Trainer® session during the break. But to make sure you don't miss one thrilling minute of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, warm up during the first show's commercial break and cool down during the second show.

9.Yoga can be an excellent source of exercise, but it's also a great way to relax. And it just feels good to get those kinks out. If you don't know where to start, take a look at Yoga Booty Ballet's Pure & Simple Yoga or Pajama Time yoga workouts to awaken your mind and your body to the possibilities.

10. There is no bigger time waster than waiting for a kid to brush his teeth or put on her pajamas. Use that time wisely. Instead of hanging around the bathroom sink listlessly, grasp on with your hands for some slow, deep squats. Work your abdomen at the same time by keeping those muscles tight. Remember to keep your back straight. Repeat 10 times.

Stay Fit This Holiday Season

By Ben Kallen

The holidays shouldn't leave you looking like a bowlful of jelly. As fun as the holiday season is, it can be rough on your fitness program. Bad weather, stress, and lack of time can sap your motivation, while parties, visitors, and vacations can distract you from your workouts. It's no wonder so many people gain weight in November and December, only to regret it on January 2nd.

But it doesn't have to be that way. You can keep up or even improve your fitness level, stave off weight gain, and enjoy the holidays as much as ever. Just stick with the following guidelines.

1. Manage your time.

Scheduling your workouts in advance, either with a printed workout calendar or online with WOWY Supergym®, is always a good idea. But it's especially important over the holidays, when just saying "I'll do it when I have time" can be a recipe for failure. Your free time is sure to get filled up with other activities, and it's easier than ever to forget about working out. On the other hand, if you schedule your workouts just like any appointments, you're much more likely to do them when the time comes. (Better still, invite some Workout Buddies to join you for extra motivation.)

If you absolutely can't find time on a particular day, mark it as a recovery period, and make sure you have a workout scheduled for the day afterward. It'll prevent you from losing the fitness gains you've built, and ensure that you keep your exercise habit intact.

2. Keep up your energy.

If your holiday period is marked by flurries of frantic activity followed by a worn-out feeling, you're not alone. But you can shorten those "dragging" periods with these healthy habits:
*Stick to your food plan. Loading up on high-carb holiday treats can cause blood sugar fluctuations that leave you feeling tired, while subsisting on rushed snacks or skipping meals entirely prevents you from getting the fuel you need. But regular, high-quality meals and snacks will keep you running at top speed, whether you're working out or fighting over the last Dora the Explorer doll in the toy store.
*Take time to relax. A meditation session, a round of yoga, or just a few minutes sitting with a hot drink or your favorite music will go a long way toward recharging your batteries.
*See the light. If your energy takes a nosedive in the wintertime, you may be suffering from seasonal affective disorder, a mood-dampening condition caused by too little light exposure. See if you perk up after getting more rays (either by spending more time outside on sunny days, or by using a full-spectrum light box). If that doesn't help, see your doctor.
*No skipping. If you feel a little tired before a planned workout, don't take that as a signal to skip it. Chances are your energy levels will pick up once you start moving. And when you exercise regularly, you're much less likely to experience those lulls during the rest of the day.

3. Travel right.

This is a great time of year to take a vacation or visit family—but without advance planning, those trips can bring your fitness program to a screeching halt. Here's how to avoid that:
*Protect yourself on the plane. Since there's no guarantee that an airline will have healthy food on hand, pack a meal or snack in advance, and make sure you drink plenty of liquids. If you're worried about catching something on the flight, boost your disease-fighting ability with Herbal Immune Boost.
*Watch out when eating out. Travel often means a lot of restaurant meals, and that can derail your food plan in a hurry. Try to find restaurants that serve high-quality meals, or, if that's not possible, order the best of what is on the menu. (Even the IHOP® has some healthful, high-protein selections these days.) But if you eat in a chain restaurant, check out the nutrition ratings just to make sure you're not getting one of those 2,000-calorie salads.
*Organize healthy activities. When you go to a warm beach or on a ski vacation, this is a no-brainer. But if you're traveling to an unfamiliar city, you should find out in advance what you can do that requires a little movement. And if you're staying with family members who prefer life on the couch, suggest some outdoor games—or, if the weather isn't cooperative, healthy indoor activities. Even a post-meal walk will get everyone's blood pumping and prevent total lethargy from setting in.
*Take your workout with you. One of the many benefits of a DVD workout program is that it's portable. Decide which workouts you'll want to do during your trip, and pack those DVDs, along with a resistance band. If you don't have one, see if the place you're staying has basic gym equipment, or stick to exercises that don't require any.

4. Take care of your health.

Nothing can derail a workout program like getting sick. And you may be extra-vulnerable to illness at this time of year, when stress and bad weather collide with cold and flu season. But a few basic precautions can improve your odds:
*Wash your hands frequently, especially before touching your nose or mouth. (A recent study found that it doesn't matter how hot the water is, but for maximum benefit, you need to lather with soap for at least 20 seconds.)
*Avoid germs. If you work out in a gym, clean the equipment with antibacterial spray, or at least cover it with a towel. Warm, moist surfaces are an ideal place for germs to live and grow.
*Get plenty of sleep—less than 7 or 8 hours per night can compromise your immune system. (It can also slow your exercise recovery.) Try to save the late-night carousing for times when you can sleep late or take a nap the next day.
*Drink plenty of water. It's easy to forget when it's cold outside, but staying hydrated helps keep your immune system in top working order.
*Get a flu shot. Remember, there are different strains of the flu virus every year, so last year's shot won't keep you protected.
*Maintain your healthy eating habits, and get a complete supply of vitamins every day. (To make sure, supplement with ActiVit® Multivitamins or Shakeology®.)

If you do come down with a mild cold, it's okay to keep working out—moderate exercise can actually boost your immunity. (Though if you're following a high-powered program such as P90X® or INSANITY®, you should ramp down the intensity for a while.) But if you have a fever, chest congestion, or can barely get out of bed, that's a sign that you need to rest up and recover. When in doubt, ask your doctor.

Let's Talk About ABS!!!

Revolutionary Ab Talk, with Brett Hoebel
By Steve Edwards

In the second part of our talk with RevAbs™ creator Brett Hoebel, we get down to the nitty gritty of how to create that coveted six-pack look that graces the cover of most fitness magazines. You may hear a lot about this in the media, but I think you'll find most of Brett's information will be new, if not downright revolutionary.

For example, even if you know that you can overtrain your abs, you probably aren't sure why or what leads to it. That's because discussing phasic muscles or angles of exercise doesn't make sexy copy. It's easier to show models crunching their ab muscles into oblivion because the concept is simple. But that's about as effective as training for the NBA by just slam-dunking a ball over and over. It's simply one aspect of a complex issue.

But don't let the complexity scare you. We handle that by creating programs so all you have to do is follow along. The goal of today's discussion is simply to enlighten you on the science behind RevAbs. Besides, as Hoebel tells us, "The most important thing to consider on achieving a six-pack (or even flat abs with lines down the side) is what you're willing to do for it."

"People think they can drink their way to a six-pack, or eat all the bread and pasta they want because they're training twice a week by running and doing crunches and using some nonsense ab machine or ab stimulator. They're just fooling themselves, and frankly, they know it."

Science aside, it still all comes down to one thing: desire. "You have to be realistic," says Hoebel. "Those 5-minute ab blast programs you see on TV, and all of those gimmicky machines, don't address the science; they are a cop-out. You have to be willing to change your diet and to train 4 to 5 times a week consistently. You have to do ab training, but you also need to do full-body strength training and cardio, because doing only one or two of them is not enough. Simply put, it all comes down to how bad you want it and what are you willing to endure."

That said, knowing the science behind the six-pack will help guide your training. This is where Hoebel excels. He's trained and studied with some of the biggest names in the business, such as Paul Chek and Charles Poliquin, and has years of trial-and-error experience in developing his reVamp® training method, which is the foundation for RevAbs. This unique background gives him insight you won't find with most trainers. For example, you'll rarely hear an explanation like this for achieving a six-pack:

"You have four abdominal muscles, but the rectus abdominis is divided into the six parts that most people think of as the "six-pack," he begins. "So building this muscle and its six divisions is key. But the other side of the coin is that you've got to burn the fat off the stomach. The best way to do that is to burn more calories by driving the heart rate up. And the key to this is your leg muscles, specifically the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. They are the biggest muscles in the body and can produce the most force and, hence, burn the most calories overall."

So training your legs is pivotal in seeking your six-pack. This is not exactly late-night TV copy, as those muscles aren't seeing a lot of use while reclining on the Ab Lounge®. Most ab programs we see advertised show a lot of midsection movements, mainly crunches. This led to my next line of questioning: Mainly, can you work your abs wrong and is more always better, as those shows would have us believe?

"You can work your abs wrong," he states. "And you can work them too much. In fact, overtraining them is the number one problem there is. People do too much of the same ab exercise/ab angle too often, and they also don't give their abs a chance to rest. They end up overtraining their abs, which usually results in their hip flexors and other muscles doing the majority of the work instead of their abs."

"The abs are like any other muscle group in that they need to rest," he states emphatically. "You can train your abs several days in a row, but you need to make sure and mix up the angles of training on the different days. If your abs are too tired from training, you’re in jeopardy of injuring yourself. They are major muscles in your core region and are involved in stabilizing many parts of the body during other movements. Oftentimes, injuries that happen during other exercises are a direct result of overtrained abs."

Then we get into the crunch mentality, where Hoebel blows the lid off what many of us are taught about ab movements. Traditionally, since most of your ab muscles have a higher percentage of red (or slow twitch) muscle fiber than other muscle groups, the common sentiment is that they are best trained with high volume and low intensity.

"More reps and sets are not always better," he says. "In fact, the rectus abdominis is considered a phasic muscle that should be fatigued in less than 60 seconds. It is strengthened mainly by heavy loads with longer rest periods. Doing hundreds of sit-ups with little to no rest for 10, 15, or 20 minutes would be opposite to this. You should stick to doing exercises that are hard enough, and loaded heavy enough, to fatigue your abs in 60 seconds or less for three to five sets. If you were to do, say, 12 reps for five sets it would be 60 reps total, not hundreds (like some of those programs advertise)."

This leads straight into the next common question about ab work: Should it be done daily?

"No," he states flatly! "The abs are like any other muscle and need to rest. As I said, you can effectively train them several days in a row, but only if you make sure and target different ab angles on the different days. If you are even able to train your abs every day it means that you are not training them hard enough, heavy enough, or correctly on the other days."
Finally, Hoebel sums up by simplifying the scientific process. "If you really want it, and if you’re willing to do the work and pay attention to what actually works, the rest will fall into place."