Last month we were in Fond du Lac, Shout out to NSCRD community co-ord Andy Adams, Phys-ed Teacher Devlin Auyer, teachers and students from the Father Gamache Memorial School. In that week, we managed to have 30 classes for 515 youth and adults involved: great participation, Fond du Lac!

With the lights, trees and reindeer being put up once again Christmas is on the way. While we all look forward to the holiday cheer, you might be worried about some extra pounds from all the upcoming turkey dinners.

Here are 5 ways to avoid the extra holiday pounds during the holiday season.

• Drink lots of water – Our bodies are made up of something like 70% water. Just a 1-2% drop in water intake can severely dehydrate you, limiting your performance in every aspect of your life.

• Cut out fast food – Fast food just isn’t good for your body. It has too many chemicals, food additives, refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, fried foods, and an overall lack of nutrition. Try having an orange or apple, a vitamin packed banana and a yogurt as an alternative to the fast food cravings.

• Exercise every day – How do you need to get in the best shape of your life? Sixty minutes of continuous exercise, daily. If you get bored easily doing the same routine day in and day out, feel free to mix it up. On Monday, take the dog for a long walk; play hockey or a skate on Tuesday; go for a snowshoe outside on Wednesday; go for a cross-country ski on Thursday and go for a hike on Friday.

• Eat 5-7 small meals per day – Eating small, frequent, sensible meals throughout the day will level out your blood sugar and provide your muscles and body with the appropriate nutrition you need to get you through your entire day. Have at least one serving of fresh fruits or vegetables at every meal.

• Reduce your calories by 300 per day (if over daily amount) – There are 3500 calories packed in a pound of fat. If you cut your calories by 300 per day, times 30 days in a month, that is a 9000 calorie deficit - approximately 2 1⁄2 half pounds of body fat gone! Combine this with exercise and you are virtually guaranteed to win the fight against the fat that comes with your Uncle’s gravy recipe, your Aunt’s double cheese and cream mashed potatoes, and your Kokum’s Holiday Cheesecake delight.

This January we will be back to Northern Saskatchewan in Black Lake First Nation, looking forward to a week of programming Functional Fitness at Father Porte Memorial Dene School. Check us out on FaceBook.

Merry Fitness, and a Healthy 2015.

Some previous tips include:

• Getting a workout in just 10 minutes
• The MeTaWeTan Bootcamp
• Dealing with muscle soreness

Visit our Health and Sports pages for more from Joel and Fitness 2J2!