Everyone looks forward to sitting down with family and friends for a Thanksgiving meal. But for those of us who are working towards a healthier you in 2016 you may have some reservations about really enjoying the meal plan. The key to still enjoying your favorite holiday fare and still keep true to your fitness goals is “MODERATION” and keeping to your exercise routines.

Now you may think that, hey, it’s only one day of the year and it really is. But it seems like Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday eating campaigns that take place everywhere around the United States. That’s why we say moderation is the key to you NOT putting on an extra 5 lb. or more during these two months of festive parties and get-togethers. Remember, having that stuffed feeling after the fact is only good if you’re the turkey!

One of the best things you can do to avoid packing on the pounds this holiday season is to increase your activity / exercise, a bit more during this time of year. Now, this may not seem as bad to you at first but, remember, at this time of year, people, you included are going to be spending more time shopping for gifts for family and friends. Now is a good time to use your walking shoes instead of taking the car or the bus to your favorite stores. Now, we hope you're going to visit our on-line store at http://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com to purchase a fitness item to help you or your family and friends stay on top of your progress. But besides the convenience of shopping on-line, you can still go to the mall this time of year, even if the weather does not corporate, and stretch those leg muscles. The mall is an excellent place to walk. Walking is probably one of the best low-cost fitness exercises you can do. And you can take the opportunity to window-shop as you walk briskly in front of all those stores located within the mall.

Along with walking through the mall for exercise, you can also get some fresh air as it is usually a tradition for a lot of people, after the Thanksgiving meal is over, instead of vegging out on the couch, maybe watching a football game, why not get out, and take everyone with you for a group search for that perfect Christmas tree. And we don’t mean driving down to the local Christmas tree lot to do your searching. There is nothing better than to drive out to a local tree farm, getting everyone out of the car and tramping up and down the fields trying to locate that perfect tree. Now we are not saying that you should go far and wide with the hopes of seeing the sun’s ray shinning down on your tree like the Griswald’s in that holiday favorite movie ‘Christmas Vacation” but just getting out and walking around in the clean, crisp air while your looking for the right tree will help you in losing a few calories from that big meal you just packed on.

Now those are just two ideas, but the focus is to ramp up your activity a little more during this time of year so you won’t feel bad about eating that fancy Christmas cookie your favorite aunt baked just for you.

And if you do partake in regular exercise, make sure you are tracking your daily progress so you can make sure you're increasing your activity levels between now and New Year’s Day. You may want to try an activity monitor like the Fitbit Charge 2 Activity Tracker. This one even has a heart rate monitor so you can see just how well you are doing and how well you're taxing your heart as you do so.

Remember, even though we say you should increase your activity to help you avoid the strain of gaining some holiday poundage, even exercising more does not give you a free license to just eat and eat and eat. That’s why we said earlier that moderation is the key. Yep, it’s Thanksgiving and it does only come around once a year so go ahead, take a helping of that stuffing that grandma made and finish off that dinner with a slice of pumpkin or my favorite pecan pie. But ask for a small slice and stop at just one slice, not seconds.

If you keep moderation in mind this holiday season, you won’t need to make that same New Year’s resolution again this year about losing weight and getting fit, because you are already on that right path to healthy!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, from our family here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.Com.