Worth The Calories
By: Mirabai Holland, MFA © 2012

Mirabai Holland M.F.A. legendary fitness pioneer is one of the leading authorities in the Health & Fitness industry, and a public health activist who specializes in preventive and rehabilitative exercise for people. Her Moving Free® approach to exercise is designed to provide a movement experience so pleasant it doesn’t feel like work.  www.easyexercisevideos.com

Last year I threw my arms up in the air and decided I wasn’t going to diet over the Holidays, and I didn’t.

I went wherever my instincts took me. If I wanted a piece of pie, I had a piece of pie. If I wanted it a la mode I said “sure, a la mode”. But around the second holiday party I caught myself thinking: “is it wholesome or is it junk?  Is it worth the calories?”.  Was it worth a big piece, a sliver, or Nah, forget about it? My years of training crept in, and I was editing what I ate and sort-of keeping track of the calories. You’d think that would defeat the purpose of throwing my hands up in the air, but it didn’t. I had as much or more fun over the holidays last year as I ever had, and I ate whatever I wanted, only this time I didn’t feel guilty or bloated.

Of course I’m going to try the same thing this year. I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m going to try to relax and not be too conscious of my system. I hope I can do that; I tend to obsess. Nonetheless, I urge you to try it. Let yourself eat the things you love. Just ask yourself “is it worth the calories?”.  You’ll probably have just as good a time, and you may not even gain any weight.

Of course I am a fitness professional and I’d be remiss if I didn’t even mention exercising over the Holidays. So I’ll leave you with this tasty tidbit of research. According to the National Institutes of health, a half hour of moderate Aerobic exercise, like brisk walking or a cardio-dance class, can reduce one’s risk of heart attack by as much as 50%. It also burns about 250 calories if you get my drift.

Happy Holidays.