Tempting treats everywhere, no time to hit the gym...the holidays can be tough on dieters. Don't just throw up your hands in despair and promise yourself you'll deal with the weight gain in January. This year, keep the holiday pounds off while enjoying the festivities with these easy holiday exercise routines.
Go for a Walk
Take a walk outdoors to enjoy the holiday lights in your neighborhood. If you're out shopping at the mall or grocery store, take an extra lap or two around the floor. If you're traveling, walk the airport terminal instead of sitting while you wait for your flight. Any time and place you can squeeze in a walk, you're burning calories, ranging from 170 per hour for a gentle stroll up to 270 per hour for a purposeful, fast-paced stride, based on a body weight of 150 lbs.
Enjoy Winter Sports
Think old-school -- round up some friends for an ice-skating party. Not only will you feel like something straight out of a Currier and Ives print, but you'll also be burning around 350 to 600 calories per hour. If you live in an area where you can easily hit the slopes, taking a ski trip will allow you to burn around 330 to 400 calories per hour in a most enjoyable way. If you're enjoying a white Christmas, borrow a sled from your kids -- or someone else's kids -- and have a fun-filled "snow day" while you burn around 480 calories per hour. One additional benefit of being outdoors in the cold weather, according to University of Utah professor of nutrition Wayne Askew: exposure to cold temperatures can cause your body to burn from 3 to 7 percent more calories.
Go Dancing
If you're invited to a holiday party where there will be music and dancing, hit the dance floor early and stay out there as long as you can. Not only will you be burning around 300 calories per hour, but you'll also be staying away from the buffet. If the type of parties you'll be attending are more likely to feature cookies and milk and kindergarten-age guests, you can still slip in a holiday-themed children's music video and shake it up along with the kiddies.
Exercise on the Go
Even if you'll be stuck behind the wheel on a long holiday road trip, you can still slip in a little exercise. Isometric exercise is defined as being a type of exercise where muscles are strengthened by contracting, but very little actual movement takes place, which makes it ideal for performing in a small enclosed space. Exercises you can perform without leaving your seat primarily involve the "squeeze and release" method, meaning you clench your butt muscles or suck in your gut, hold it for a few seconds, then relax, and repeat as many times as you can. If you are a passenger, or are stopped at a red light, you can also slip in a few shoulder rolls, where you lift your shoulders up as high as you can without moving your arms, hold, then release and repeat. These exercises can also be performed in an airplane seat, on a train, bus or subway, or even when you're stuck in a meeting--well, maybe not the shoulder rolls, but you should be able to do the butt-clenching and/or gut-sucking without anyone noticing. While there is no hard data on just how many calories are burned per butt clench, any type of "non-exercise" activity, including fidgeting, can help you burn from 100 to 150 calories per hour.
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