December16

Mary Richard
The Goodies Are Coming, The Goodies Are Coming!
Health Fitness
The holidays are quickly upon us. How
did that happen? All that hard work of losing
weight, toning up during the year may go
“bust” in just a few weeks if we are not careful!
It took me several weeks to lose the 10
pounds that suddenly “appeared” after the
holidays last year! Where the heck did they
come from, I asked?
But I vow NOT to deprive myself of the wonderful
goodies that will be enriching my life
over the next few weeks. I’m often asked how
do I keep my energy up and WHERE do I get
my energy?
I’ve been like this my whole life – full of energy,
life to the fullest! My mother used to tell
me that I just never stayed put! (One reason
that she put me into dance school at such an
early age was to help use up that bottled-up
energy!)
If I have a really full day ahead of me, I try
to have a 3 egg omelet with lots of veggies, a
little cottage cheese and some fruit for breakfast.
I eat a light lunch and light dinner.
With my part-time job, two volunteering
jobs, plus teaching my six Zumba classes per
week, there are times that I cannot have a full
dinner, so I make my lunch the larger meal
of the day.
I’m constantly searching the web for lower
caloric recipes for desserts. Believe me, I am a
true chocoholic! GIVE ME CHOCOLATE!
But that can surely add up calories! So, I
try to have a little dessert whenever the time
comes for me to indulge!
Parties are abundant during the next few
weeks. Temptation is there – for sure! I try to
take one (or two) pieces of the temptation and
then walk away! How many times have you
been hounding around the goodies and end
up eating more than you originally intended?
Also, I’ve mentioned in previous columns,
that I will munch on something at home
before going out to a home party. A little bit
of veggies helps to fill the tummy, so I’m not
tempted to gobble up everything in sight when
I get to the party. Also drinking lots of water
tends to fill me up.
There are so many ways to help keep off
those sneaky pounds that creep up before you
know it. And I try to walk more during the
holidays. When parking my car for all my
jobs, I try to park a little further and allow
more walking time.
Let’s try to burn off some calories and still
enjoy the holidays to the fullest!
Positive attitude and good health
to all!
Mary Richard was crowned Ms. Senior Nevada 2006, was first runner-up for Ms.
Senior America 2006 and is a life-time dancer. She is one of the original columnists
for The Vegas Voice. She is now an aerobics instructor throughout Las Vegas/
Henderson. Mary can be reached at mary-vegasvoice@cox.net.
28 www.thevegasvoice.net