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Rowan Rifles Camp # 405
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Tips for a Heart-Healthy Holiday Season
The holidays can play havoc with your health regimen. Between parties, late nights, feasts and traveling,
healthy habits can go right out the window. But the American Heart Association has tools and tips to
help you enjoy yourself this season and still respect yourself in the morning.
The weather outside is frightful, but finding time for physical activity is delightful! When the weather cools
and the season gets festive your free time gets shorter, use the tips below to help manage your daily
fitness routine. After all, any exercise moves you toward a healthier heart.
• ‘Tis the season for spending time with family. Share your workout time with visiting relatives. Are
you at different fitness levels? See what activities you can share and be active together.
• From holiday shopping, to party planning, to the kids’ evening play rehearsal, you can still find some
time and place to fit in physical activity. Try to make it a habit, but be flexible. Instead of sitting while
watching winter play practice, march in place – keep your knees high. Or try speed shopping. Lace up
those sneakers and move! Before you know it your shopping will be done.
• Keep a record of your activities. Reward yourself at special milestones . . . some alone time
maybe?
Look for these tips and more online by visiting the American Heart Association’s free fitness Web
site, JustMove.org.
Gaining weight is one holiday tradition that no one wants to keep. Mastering a few cooking techniques
can help you create a healthier diet without losing out on flavor. Here are tips from the newest book in
our library of best-selling cookbooks:
• Cut down on saturated fat in creamy dressings by mixing in some nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt.
• Use non-stick cookware so you can cook with a minimum of oil or vegetable oil spray.
• For a wonderful flavor enhancer, sprinkle food with vinegar or citrus juice. Add it at the last minute
so the flavor is at its strongest.
• Substitute chopped vegetables for some of the bread in your stuffing recipe.
Find more tips like these plus more than 600 fabulous, heart-healthy recipes in the New American
Heart Association Cookbook, 7th Edition, available at booksellers everywhere in November. Sample
recipes and more can be found at AmericanHeart.org/cookbooks.
Just as important as a healthy diet is exercise. It’s important to maintain your physical activity during
the holidays – the American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes or more of exercise most days
of the week. To help women make healthy choices over the holidays and reduce their risk for heart
disease and stroke, the Go Red For Women movement suggests that women: Make the holidays
healthy…
• Take time to enjoy the holiday season with family and friends. Gather around the fire to enjoy lower
fat hot chocolate and share favorite holiday memories.
• Offer vegetables in addition to traditional side dishes such as stuffing or mashed potatoes at your
holiday meals.
Set the stage for success…
• Don’t starve yourself the day of the party so you can fill up on food that evening. If you eat normally
throughout the day, you’re much less likely to overeat at the party.
• Remember: The point of holiday gatherings is to celebrate, not to eat. Mingle with friends and loved
ones instead of hovering around the buffet table.
Be selective…
• Don’t load up at the buffet table. Keep portion sizes small by putting your snacks on a small plate
instead of a large one and limiting your trips to the buffet.
• Wait 20 minutes before getting another plate of food from the buffet. You’ll often find that you’re no
longer hungry.
Be a health-conscious hostess…
• Set out bite-sized, healthy snacks such as popcorn, raisins or nuts in brandy snifters. That way your
guests won’t be tempted to keep reaching for the snacks – they’ll have to pick up the glass and pour a
few into their hand.
• Present food in various locations to encourage activities and mingling as well as eating.
Join the Go Red For Women movement.
By participating in the American Heart Association Choose To Move program, women learn how to
make physical activity and healthful eating a part of their daily lives. The free, 12-week self-paced
program helps women juggle work, family and other responsibilities. Available online or by mail, it also
teaches women how to reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke with tips like these:
• Creating healthful holiday habits, such as taking a walk around the neighborhood after dinner to
look at holiday lights, or a morning jog or bike ride.
• Using the holidays to create quality family time. Turn off the TV and play ball with the kids.
The holidays can play havoc with your health regimen. Between parties, late nights, feasts and traveling,
healthy habits can go right out the window. But the American Heart Association has tools and tips to
help you enjoy yourself this season and still respect yourself in the morning.
The weather outside is frightful, but finding time for physical activity is delightful! When the weather cools
and the season gets festive your free time gets shorter, use the tips below to help manage your daily
fitness routine. After all, any exercise moves you toward a healthier heart.
• ‘Tis the season for spending time with family. Share your workout time with visiting relatives. Are
you at different fitness levels? See what activities you can share and be active together.
• From holiday shopping, to party planning, to the kids’ evening play rehearsal, you can still find some
time and place to fit in physical activity. Try to make it a habit, but be flexible. Instead of sitting while
watching winter play practice, march in place – keep your knees high. Or try speed shopping. Lace up
those sneakers and move! Before you know it your shopping will be done.
• Keep a record of your activities. Reward yourself at special milestones . . . some alone time
maybe?
Look for these tips and more online by visiting the American Heart Association’s free fitness Web
site, JustMove.org.
Gaining weight is one holiday tradition that no one wants to keep. Mastering a few cooking techniques
can help you create a healthier diet without losing out on flavor. Here are tips from the newest book in
our library of best-selling cookbooks:
• Cut down on saturated fat in creamy dressings by mixing in some nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt.
• Use non-stick cookware so you can cook with a minimum of oil or vegetable oil spray.
• For a wonderful flavor enhancer, sprinkle food with vinegar or citrus juice. Add it at the last minute
so the flavor is at its strongest.
• Substitute chopped vegetables for some of the bread in your stuffing recipe.
Find more tips like these plus more than 600 fabulous, heart-healthy recipes in the New American
Heart Association Cookbook, 7th Edition, available at booksellers everywhere in November. Sample
recipes and more can be found at AmericanHeart.org/cookbooks.
Just as important as a healthy diet is exercise. It’s important to maintain your physical activity during
the holidays – the American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes or more of exercise most days
of the week. To help women make healthy choices over the holidays and reduce their risk for heart
disease and stroke, the Go Red For Women movement suggests that women: Make the holidays
healthy…
• Take time to enjoy the holiday season with family and friends. Gather around the fire to enjoy lower
fat hot chocolate and share favorite holiday memories.
• Offer vegetables in addition to traditional side dishes such as stuffing or mashed potatoes at your
holiday meals.
Set the stage for success…
• Don’t starve yourself the day of the party so you can fill up on food that evening. If you eat normally
throughout the day, you’re much less likely to overeat at the party.
• Remember: The point of holiday gatherings is to celebrate, not to eat. Mingle with friends and loved
ones instead of hovering around the buffet table.
Be selective…
• Don’t load up at the buffet table. Keep portion sizes small by putting your snacks on a small plate
instead of a large one and limiting your trips to the buffet.
• Wait 20 minutes before getting another plate of food from the buffet. You’ll often find that you’re no
longer hungry.
Be a health-conscious hostess…
• Set out bite-sized, healthy snacks such as popcorn, raisins or nuts in brandy snifters. That way your
guests won’t be tempted to keep reaching for the snacks – they’ll have to pick up the glass and pour a
few into their hand.
• Present food in various locations to encourage activities and mingling as well as eating.
Join the Go Red For Women movement.
By participating in the American Heart Association Choose To Move program, women learn how to
make physical activity and healthful eating a part of their daily lives. The free, 12-week self-paced
program helps women juggle work, family and other responsibilities. Available online or by mail, it also
teaches women how to reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke with tips like these:
• Creating healthful holiday habits, such as taking a walk around the neighborhood after dinner to
look at holiday lights, or a morning jog or bike ride.
• Using the holidays to create quality family time. Turn off the TV and play ball with the kids.