Your Holiday Wish List

What is on your holiday wish list? A bigger home, a new car, or a dream vacation? Sure, if these wishes came true, life would be so much easier. Many of these items are out of our control and may take many years for us to accomplish. What about wishing for a happy and healthy life? We do have complete control of what we put into our body and how we treat it.

Have you been Naughty or Nice to your body this year?

Naughty
• Eating fast food daily or weekly
• Not exercising regularly
• Not getting enough sleep
• High stress level
• Use of drugs or alcohol


Nice
• Eating healthy meals (6 small meals a day)
• Drinking plenty of water (64 oz of H2O)
• Exercising daily cardio/weights every other day
• Plenty of sleep at night (8 hours)
• No use of drugs or alcohol
• Reducing stress by meditation/yoga

As a family, in the month of December, improve your body by eating healthy and exercising daily. Try these fun activities to keep you heart healthy and in the holiday spirit:

Snowball fun
Buy a bag of cotton balls. Place them all in a bowl at the end of your hallway or living room. Place another empty bowl at the opposite end. Family then lines up one behind the other. Set a timer. One at a time a family member races to the bowl and brings one cotton ball back and places it in the empty bowl. The next family member races to get one cotton ball and place it into the bowl. Do this until all the cotton balls are placed in the other bowl. How fast did you do this? The next day, repeat the same activity, but try to beat your time. This is a great cardio workout!

Marshmallow toss
Buy a bag of large marshmallows. Family members stand across from one another. Each member has a partner. Start off close to each other and toss the marshmallow. If both catch, take one step back. Repeat the toss. With each catch, take one step back. If you drop the marshmallow, both players must do 15 jumping jacks. After 15 steps away from each other, you have successfully completed the challenge! Challenge yourself each night and try to improve your record.

Alison Cardoza, B.S, Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor at Milestone Wellness Center.