How did that happen?? I’m super excited, but I can’t believe it is here already. I mean I guess I can, we have been watching Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas for a month now… so it makes sense that Christmas is almost here. I hope you all had a nice weekend and you have all your Christmas shopping, wrapping and errands done!!!????

I thought today would be a perfect day to share with you an article that I wrote for one of our town newspapers, The Greenwich Sentinel. It was published last week, and I was thrilled to be a part of their holiday newspaper.

You all know be my now and I love to preach healthy eating and living year round so you can sort of guess what my article had to say. While I do indulge in my favorite treats on occasion here and there I do like to be mindful of keeping a good balance.

Click on my article for more details on how to HAVE A HEALTHY HOLIDAY SEASON

In case it’s too hard to read from the picture link here’s the article:

HEALTHY HOLIDAY EATING

With the holiday season approaching, are you already thinking about how you are going to work off all the extra plates of turkey, stuffing, pies & cookies? There’s no need to add stress to your upcoming busy social schedule. Learning how to find the right balance with food will allow you to indulge in that cookie or cocktail around the holidays without doing any damage to your waistline.

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be a struggle, focus on moderation. If you are mindful of everything you put on your plate, you can save room for those special foods you look forward to every year!

My 4 Quick Tips on how to plan for a healthy holiday:

• Plan ahead. One of my key tips is to plan ahead. Write in your planner or your phone calendar which events you are attending and allow yourself to celebrate with 1 food or drink item at each special occasion. Remember you want to enjoy your indulgence, you don’t want to regret it. Take your time eating or drinking your special treat, and enjoy the social aspect of the holiday season.
• Exercise 30 minutes each day. Now that you have your plan, make sure you include 30 minutes of exercise on most days.  Put it in your planner and get to it. A 30 minute walk with your dog counts and of course that 60 minute Boot Camp class is even better. Stay active!
• Load your plate with an assortment of colors. Balance each day with a variety of different fruits, veggies, protein, carbs, and fats By doing so you won’t deprive your body of any nutrients, and you won’t have any guilt when you reach for that holiday cocktail!
• Enjoy your time with family & friends. Remember the holiday season isn’t just about gifts, food, desserts, and cocktails. It’s about spending time with your loved ones and enjoying the company of those around you. That’s what the holidays are all about!

Keep these tips in mind as you dive full speed into the holidays. I am confident with your focus and mindful choices you can make it through all the celebrations without adjusting a notch on your belt buckle!

Kelly Garofalo is a lifelong Greenwich resident that has a strong passion for all things health & fitness. As a Personal Trainer, Fitness Instructor, Health Coach, Mom, Blog Writer (www.thefitskool.com) and health enthusiast she strives to help others achieve their wellness goals no matter what size they are.

What are your goals during the holiday season?

What’s your favorite holiday goodie to indulge in?

Seriously I have no complaints, it is making the holiday weekend extra long but I am definitely all out of wack. Do you feel the same?

As much as I am enjoying all the friend & family time I can’t wait to be back to a schedule next week.

Yesterday we had a New Year’s Day brunch at a friends house which was a lot of fun. Both Cooper & Ava were invited which is very rare they both get invited to a party so it was nice to see them both playing and entertaining each other. In the evening we headed to our neighbors for another small get together. I didn’t take any pictures. I actually left my phone behind and enjoyed the day. Its fun to live in the moment sometimes and I definitely did.

It seems like the holidays are 3 weeks long with fun plans day after day. I’m guessing it seems extra long because of how the holidays fell this year. If New Year’s Eve was on the weekend we would probably all be back on track and focusing on those New Year’s Resolutions.

Anyways… even if you haven’t started eating right and getting to the gym, you can start today or tomorrow. Don’t get discouraged!!

Marc and I ate super healthy yesterday. I loved it and it felt good to kick the junk to the curb. For dinner we decided to make a chicken recipe from Ina Garten’s cook book “FOOLPROOF”.

Let me tell you… this was the CRUNCHIEST chicken I have ever had.

I loved that part of it. It also had a tanginess to it which I am not used to, but I still enjoyed it.

Here is the recipe. It was super easy which you know I am all about! We baked it at 350 for about 40 minutes.

I will definitely make it again!

Do you have any fun plans this weekend?

Are you thrown off by the long holiday weekends?

(A day late)

I hope your holidays are filled with fun, laughter & love!!

Ava has a lot of love to share!! She gave both Rudolph and her Mickey Mouse ornament a big old Christmas KISS.

I had a blast with her on Christmas Day. More pictures to come  

XOXO,

Kelly

If you OVER-INDULGED this past weekend from all the Thanksgiving food don’t fall into an even deeper hole.. do something about it.

1. Drink lots of water. As full as you might feel, try and flush out all that extra sodium.
2. Sweat it out. Burn some extra calories and keep your workouts in check this week.
3. Eat healthy. Aim for portion control, and choose lean meats with lots of vegetables and fruit.

Everyone has different outcomes when it comes to the holiday season.  People skip their workouts, pile on the food, spend more time sitting around… and come up with tons of excuses for not eating healthy. Some people keep up their fitness routines or crank up their workouts to have the occasional indulgence. What are you going to do?

With the holidays bringing on more parties and get togethers it is easy to hit a road-block but there are ways to prevent it from happening. Don’t wait until January 1st to set goals to eat healthy and lose weight. Start now by making smarter choices. I am not telling you to avoid all your favorite foods but be conscious of your choices.

To avoid gaining extra weight during the holidays:

1. Don’t arrive hungry to your party. Eat a snack before and drink lots of water
2. Keep your portions in check. Have a scoop of the mashed potatoes but make sure to load up on your veggies too.
3. Choose desserts wisely. Yes 1 cookie is okay, but don’t sample 10 just because there are so many varieties.
4. Stay Active. If you know you have 2 parties to attend on the weekend, add in an extra workout or two. 

During the holidays, I like to treat myself just like everyone else. I do however keep in mind of my portion sizes, I stick with my workouts, I drink lots of water, and I always load up on fruits and veggies.

How will you maintain your weight during the holidays??