Yep, its starting to get dark earlier and earlier this time of year. The nights are getting a little chilly, maybe even cold, depending on just where you live.  Autumn is upon us and soon, it will be time for those little trick-or-treaters to come knocking at your door.

Its also the time for Halloween parties and get-togethers.  Everyone likes to come out, dressed in what they think is a great costume for the annual parties.  But  with the parties comes the party foods.  If you’ve been looking after yourself, weight and fitness wise through the course of the year, you know how tempting all those Halloween treats will be.  Most party-hosts go out of their  way to have a big variety of delicious foods on hand for you to choose from.  The problem is, eating a few of these treats can wind up adding about 3,000 calories to your already daily caloric intake.

Tempting treats are everywhere and it can be difficult to avoid them when you attend parties and other festivities. Plus, it’s the beginning of the holiday season, and if you get off track on Halloween, it can be the beginning of a downward spiral—and the end of your diet.

So because its going to be so easy to give into those temptations, we listed below a few tips you can follow so that just maybe you won’t over do it on the snicker-doodles and possibly more than a few glasses of spirits, and we don’t mean the enchanted ones, after all a ghostly apparition never put weight on your body, right?  We mean the liquid refreshments that are so readily available at adult parties.

1. Schedule a workout on the morning of Halloween. Whether you plan on hitting parties and imbibing or escorting your little ones for some trick-or-treating, make sure to schedule some time for exercise on Halloween day. Aim for the morning so that you get it out of the way and don’t find excuses for skipping the workout.

2. Strive for balance. Load up on protein and fiber all day long, so that you’re not feeling hungry by the time your get started with your Halloween activities. At your event, fill three quarters of your plate with healthy choices such as veggies and leave only a quarter free for treats. Yes, we know this is a hard thing to do, especially when you’re faced with some of your favorite delicacies, but moderation is always  the key to any well planned life choice. So,  go ahead, take a few of your  favorites, but make sure your plate size won't increase your waist size!

3. Hydrate. Proper hydration is key to all diets and programs for weight management. When you attend special events or are going to be around lots of tempting treats, drink lots of water to fill you up. This is even more essential if you plan to have alcoholic drinks.

4. Buy your least favorite candy. If you plan to stay home and hand out candy, buy types that you don’t really like. You’ll be less tempted to get off track.

5. Buy treats on Halloween day. Don’t hit the store early and have bags of candy sitting on your shelves for days on end,that temptation is  hard one to overcome. Go at the last possible minute, as in the day of. In addition to minimizing temptation, you’ll get your treats on sale as well.

Another great way to keep yourself under control and on track with your  current health conscious lifestyle  is to make sure  your  wearing your Fitness Tracker.  This way, depending on the make and model, you can be constantly reminded on just how well you’ve been doing so far this day.  Using your fitness tracker can be just the thing you need to be able to walk away from that buffet table once you’ve made up your  plate.  And believe me, people will take notice of what your eating and what you’re not, especially if they know you’ve been trying to eat right and exercise in order to have your body do an uptick for a healthier lifestyle.

If you don’t currently have a fitness tracker, first, why not?  Second, let me recommend one that can be a companion to you in providing the necessary “push” you need in order to stay committed to your healthier lifestyle.

The activity monitor I’m talking about is the Garmin Vivosmart 4 Wellness and Fitness Tracker    This small but powerful fitness monitor can be that conscious reminder of just how far you’ve come on your  fitness journey and may be just that “push” you need to stay away from those tempting treats and candy.  The Vivo 4 will not only track your daily activity, but it will also give smart notifications from your phone, track stress levels and has a pulse ox sensor. 

The  Garmin Vivosmart 4 Fitness Tracker comes loaded with fitness and wellness features to help you make the most of a healthier, more active lifestyle. A wrist-based Pulse Ox sensor lets you estimate blood oxygen saturation, even while you’re sleeping, or you can spot-check your oxygen levels anytime during the day. The device also monitors heart rate at the wrist and includes helpful tools such as all-day stress tracking, a relaxation breathing timer.  Using the Elevate™ heart rate data collected from your wrist, Vívosmart 4 can give you an idea of your current fitness level.  For added insight, Vívosmart 4 will notify you if your heart rate unexpectedly rises above a threshold you’ve set. If you’re inactive for more than 10 minutes and your heart rate stays above your set threshold, you’ll get an alert, that you can act on!

So, what better way than to have your own personal conscious like Disney’s Pinocchio’s “Jiminy Cricket” on your  wrist like the Garmin Vivosmart 4 Activity Tracker  to help keep you aware that fitness is a commitment that you  elected to make.

So, with your  Garmin at your wrist, it just might make it a little easier to forego those Halloween Treats, in and around that buffet table.

Happy Halloween!

 

So, how about it? Are you an early riser or an after work fitness enthusiast? Either way, this time of year, no matter when you get out to train, and I mean running, through the streets, or for some of us, we find the peace and quiet, of a local cemetery, is as good a place as any to tackle some people free paths.  Yes, I said cemetery's  You can usually dial it up a notch by going up and down the hills that usually make up this tranquil resting place. Tranquil, it may be, but maybe a little eerie this time of year as well with Halloween right around the corner. Be honest, running early in the morning or early evening can sometimes make you feel just a little bit uncomfortable. We have all had that “hair on the back of our neck”, starting to rise feeling, right?

Well, sometimes that’s a good way to generate some extra speed or spring in your step to get you out of that particular area and into a better lit place where you feel a little more comfortable.

Seriously though, now is a great time of year, with it being the fall season, to take part in a local run, or ½ marathon that seems to pop up everywhere this spooky season. In fact, according to a “Running USA” survey, Halloween is now the 2nd most popular holiday running time, second only to Thanksgiving! So now is a great time to get on your smartphone or tablet, and do a little searching to see what’s available nearby that you can take part in. Most occur on this coming Saturday, but there are events scheduled on Sunday as well, this Halloween weekend.

As always, anyone who takes their running seriously, keeps track of how well they do, against their distance levels and the time it takes them to get there. The advantage of taking part occasionally in a timed “Fun” running event is that you can gauge your performance against how well you do compared to others who are running around you. I’ts always good to put yourself up against some competition so that you have a visible objective in front of you that you can concentrate on to see just how well you really are doing. Sometimes we get a little complacent when we run solo. We can get ourselves into a stagnant running routine and talk ourselves into a “half-truth” that, yes, we just finished our run of the day and our time is about the same as always. So I guess I’m doing all right, after all, I didn’t lose any time right? Well, that is correct, but you may not be pushing yourself as hard as you should be doing in order to get yourself to a “Next Plateau” level either!

Running in events that take place throughout the year is a good way to see just how well you really are doing against some competition. One way to improve yourself while your training is keeping constant records of your time, exertions (heart rate), naturally your distance and seeing how many calories you're burning during this type of work out. A good fitness tracker can do this for you and one like the Garmin Vivosmart 3 HR  With this type of activity monitor, you're able to track everything you need from heart-rate (thanks to Elevate wrist heart rate monitoring), steps, distance, calories burned, floors climbed, distance traveled, intensity minutes, and VO2 max.

So it a great tool to provide you with the right data so you know just how well you're doing all the time, even when you get to the gym for some strength training. Which is important enough that we’re going to do another blog post just on that. The importance of strength training to a runner.

So how about it, you up for a little ghoulish fun? After all, a lot of the Halloween running events that are taking place allow you to dress up as your favorite spooky monster, demon, or TV celebrity, whatever puts a smile on your face, and maybe your racing companions.

So, get on that smartphone, do a little searching and get yourself registered for some Halloween running fun. Once you do this, you’re going to look forward to taking part in another one again, and again. And don’t forget, with Thanksgiving coming up fast, (Remember, this is the “Top Dog” in holiday themed racing events), you're going to be able to pick and choose which event you can take part in to see if you’re moving your personal training bar farther ahead!

Me, I think, I’ll be making myself up as zombie from the ‘Walking Dead” series… Just can’t get enough of that show…..but you can forget about the staggering zombie gait...

I’m looking to finish with a great time, how about BOOO?

 

It’s Just About Halloween, Look and See What You Need to Do to Equalize That Candy Your Snacking On!

Well, we all have a sweet tooth and usually, we get a little satisfaction from an autumn night full of midget size ghouls and goblins, and maybe a witch, ghost or Frankenstein monster or two.

We all have fun either going out with the kids as they travel the neighborhood, knocking on doors and singing out “Trick or Treat” Smell……well you know how it goes. Then there are the people that hold the fort down to answer the doorbell and let the little trick-or-treaters in to do their thing and hopefully get some healthy snacks or if you want to make them happy, a handful of candy. If you’re like me, you’ll have a large amount of that sugary substance on hand to appease those scary visitors. But you and I both know, while you’re busy waiting for that doorbell to ring, you will find that your hand is in that bowl full of goodies and popping one piece, then another into your own mouth. Well, what’s the harm anyway?? It’s not like it’s a full-size candy bar right? It’s only the “bite-size” kind of sweet. Below are a few facts on just how much exercise you will have to do in order to negate the giving into your weaknesses and having more than just one piece.

I don’t know about you but Reese’s peanut butter cup is my number one weakness. Well, 5 miniature pieces are 220 calories and contain 13 grams of fat. To make it a wash, you would have to run at a good pace for 17minutes.

How about a Kit Kat? Well, two miniature bars contain 210 calories and 11 grams of fat. And you're looking at 16 minutes on the treadmill. Makes you wonder why you unfolded the wrapper.

Sour Patch Kids, Just a 1 fun-size pack contains 210 calories but the good thing is no fat. Still, to negate those calories you’re looking at spending 16 minutes on that treadmill. Get where this is going? The more you eat the more you’re going to be calling your treadmill your new best friend.

Ok, you can’t go too far wrong with a Hershey Kiss, right? Well I know I like them more than I should and the reason is, eating just 9 (who can eat just one?) pieces will put 200 calories into your pocket along with 12 grams of fat and tighten up your sneaks as you run off 16 minutes of time to make up for eating that sweet confection.

Like the crunch of a Butterfinger? Me too, but just two fun-size bars equate to 170 calories and it will take 13 minutes to do away with the oh-sweet damage.

My wife is a big, I mean big Snickers fan, she loves them, lucky for me she also believes in moderation, because just two fun-size bars will add 160 calories to your daily intake along with 8 grams of fat and you’re looking at 12 minutes of running around the yard.

Like chocolate and nuts? How about an Almond Joy bar, just two fun-size bars will add 160 calories to your waistline along with 9 grams of fat and will take 11 minutes of hard running to make it a thing of the past.

Well, you can see where we are going with this. Now, we are NOT saying you shouldn’t have any candy after Halloween only comes around once every year. Go ahead and treat yourself, but just don’t TRICK YOURSELF into thinking those small pieces won’t cause any damage. Take it all in stride and have a few but keep it all within moderation.

Remember, the more you chomp down, the longer your going to be in that gym or out on the road pounding the pavements to work off all of those sweet little Halloween treats

Have fun, be safe and please keep an eye open so that all the neighborhood kids will also be safe and have a great time this Halloween evening. Be Spooking You……