5 Tips for Staying in Shape over Labor Day Weekend

Everyone knows staying in shape is hard, but if you apply these five tips, you might survive this holiday weekend without tipping the scales.

 

Taking the time to do what is necessary to stay fit can be a serious pain, especially on your day off. But if you apply these five tips for staying in shape during this Labor Day weekend, you may find that the rest of your week, and possibly year, will go a lot smoother.

• Work out over the weekend.

This bit of advice is probably the most likely to be ignored, and the last thing anyone wants to do on a holiday weekend. But one of the biggest complaints people have about working out is finding the time. A three-day weekend is a perfect opportunity to catch up, or work ahead on exercise, as it offers a day off between work outs if you work out every other day (as you should). Having to exercise after working all day is something that almost no one wants to do, so use this precious time to crank out a little cardio now, so you don’t have to do it during the week.

• Don’t go crazy with the food.

There is something about holidays, even ones that are devoid of any association with food or indulgence, that make people want to eat truckloads of fatty foods. A study conducted by health psychology researchers Raymond C. Baker and Daniel S. Kirschenbaum found that when they monitored the weight fluctuations of 36 women and six men, the subjects gained 500 percent more weight over the holidays I’m not saying don’t eat; just don’t eat enough to become 500 percent fatter.

• Work ahead.

Many studies, including one conducted by the University of California in 2007, link weight gain to stress. So it logically follows that the less stressed you are, the easier it’s going to be to avoid overeating. Getting ahead on your work before the weekend arrives means you won’t have to suffer the crunch of the four-day work week that will inevitably follow the holiday. This will also help to keep your mind off of work so you can enjoy yourself.

• Take it easy on the sauce.

It’s no secret that most people do their drinking on the weekends. And the longer the weekend is, the more drinking that’s likely to occur. Alcoholic beverages can have pretty high calorie counts depending on what you’re drinking. A single 12-ounce bottle of most beers will run you 100 calories and one shot of distilled liquor can hover around the same. And no one ever stops with only one shot or bottle of beer. Pick out one day during the weekend to go nuts, but lay off after that. You can still get plastered (if that's what you're into) and you’ll likely drink significantly less than if you drank moderately every day of the weekend.

• Pace yourself.

If you are just beginning a weight loss regime, no matter what time of year it is, it’s important to remember that there’s no such thing as fast results. With perseverance, the weight will come off, if indeed that is what you’re trying to accomplish. But don’t starve yourself or completely deprive yourself of things you enjoy or you will fail. In fact, if you have already been on a weight loss program for a while, the Labor Day weekend might just be the perfect time to give yourself a break and cheat a little.
At the end of the day, nobody needs a six-pack. But even if you aren’t dieting, watching what you eat over the holidays will help you keep from gaining a lot of weight in the long run. Be happy, be healthy and enjoy your holiday weekend.