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Paying the Bills
Re-Assessing Your Budget
Getting your Dietary Habits Back On Track
Getting your Exercise Routine Back On Track
Overcoming Post-Holiday Blues
Recycling the Christmas Tree
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Paying the Bills & Re-Assessing Your Budget |
Got in over your head this holiday season? Some advice from "Black Enterprise", by Siobhan Leftwich, includes the following:
- If most of your debt is credit card related, take action now.
- Call (your credit card company) and negotiate for a lower rate, a reduced interest rate, or a promotional package.
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Avoid rolling over your debt to a zero percentage card. Having a zero balance on your old card may tempt you to charge new items.
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Pay off your lowest credit card balance first.
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Write down your monthly income and your monthly expenses and then factor in your debt.
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If money's really tight, consider taking a part-time job until the debt is paid down.
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Give up one habit, such as a manicure or pedicure, and consider canceling your cable TV for a few months and use the extra money to repair holiday debt.
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You may also want to do some personal therapy to figure out why you got into debt.
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Create a spending plan.
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Open a Christmas Club account. "To get an idea of how much you'll need to save, look at how much you spent this Christmas and divide the amount by 52. That's how much you'll need to put aside every week."
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Consider cutting up your credit cards and operating on a cash basis.
Holiday debt hangover
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| Getting your Dietary Habits Back On Track
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Reader's Digest offers some tips that can be used both during the holiday season, and year-round to stay on track:
1. Drink water. People often mistake thirst for hunger, so next time you feel like noshing, reach for water first.
2. Set realistic goals. One or two pounds a week maximum (weight loss) is doable. Top weight-loss programs advocate stopping after the first 10 pounds and maintaining that loss for about six months before trying to lose any more.
3. Build in splurges. If you allow yourself to eat whatever you want for 2 meals out of every 21, you won't inflict enough damage to subvert your weight loss. And you'll feel less deprived.
4. Count to 10. Studies suggest that the average craving lasts only about 10 minutes. So before caving in to your urge, set your mental timer for a 10-minute time-out.
5. Eat more often. People who have kept their weight off for more than a few years tend to eat an average of five times a day. Light, frequent meals curb your appetite, boost your energy, improve your mood and even speed your metabolism, since the process of digestion itself burns calories.
6. Make weekly resolutions. Don't try to overhaul your diet overnight. Instead, make one change, such as eating at least one piece of fruit daily, every week.
7. Start with 10%. People who start by focusing on achieving just 10% of their long-range weight-loss goal may have the best chance of ultimate success.
8. Spike your meals with salsa. This spicy condiment can stand in for mayo to deliver plenty of flavor without the fat. Mix it with a bit of low-fat yogurt to make tuna salad. Spread it on a veggie burger, or serve it with chicken or fish.
9. Take one-third off. When you eat dinner out, reduce the temptation to clean your plate by setting aside one-third of your meal. Ask the server for a doggie bag, and take it home for lunch the next day. Try serving yourself one-third less at home too. This simple tactic could subtract more than 500 calories a day.
10. Go easy on the alcohol. Remember that alcohol is a source of calories. A 12-ounce beer has 150 calories; a 3.5-ounce glass of wine, 85. A margarita packs a bigger caloric punch. Even worse offenders are creamy cocktails, such as brandy alexanders and mudslides -- equivalent to drinking a rich dessert. The bottom line: If you're trying to lose weight, stick with water.
11. Write notes to yourself. To help you stay on track, post notes to yourself on the fridge and the pantry. Put up a little stop sign or make tags with questions like "Do you want this food enough to wear it?" and "Are the calories worth the consequences?"
12. Stay away from sodas. Soft drinks are a major source of empty calories in the American diet. If you're truly thirsty, reach for water or unsweetened iced tea instead of soda.
13. Don't just eat -- dine. Eating on the run or in front of the tube invites mindless munching.
14. Up your protein (a little). Research suggests that protein prolongs the feeling of fullness better than carbohydrates or fats do. Just don't go overboard. Stick to low-fat protein sources like low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese, low-fat soy drinks or snacks, or thinly sliced turkey breast.
15. Learn how to measure. It's easy to misjudge portion sizes. Pull out the measuring spoons and cups, especially for full-fat salad dressings, dairy foods and mayo.
16. Make smart substitutions. Look for nutritious low-calorie alternatives to sugary, high-fat treats. Try frozen grapes instead of candy. Use air-popped popcorn instead of oil-popped. Dip fresh strawberries in fat-free fudge sauce for a sensuous chocolaty treat.
17. Have a "party plan." When attending a party, offer to bring a plate. Arriving armed with chopped fresh veggies and a low-fat dip -- or any other low-calorie snack -- ensures that you'll have something to snack on without feeling guilty.
18. Think positively. Train yourself to focus on your best points rather than your weak spots.
19. Give yourself a break. If you overeat one night, just get back on track in the morning by focusing on what's worked for you in the past.
20. Relax! Some people binge when they're stressed. If stress has a stronghold on your life, try learning yoga, meditation, or simple breathing exercises.
www.rd.com
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| Getting your Exercise Routine Back On Track |
If you abandoned your exercise routine for any number of reasons during the holidays, Exercise.About.com offers advice for getting back on track:
- Admit Your Mistake and give yourself a time limit (say 20 minutes) for feeling guilty. When time's up, put it aside and move on. Figure out your weak areas and plan for them.
- Plan for the Future. Sit down with your calendar or day planner and look at the coming month. For any major events coming up, make a plan for how you'll keep exercising. You may need to gather some workout ideas or home gym equipment so you're prepared.
- Ease Into It. Getting back to your routine doesn't necessarily mean jumping right back into the same program you were following before.
- Listen to Your Body. Even though you may be tempted to push hard, wanting to be where you were previously, it's important to act on your body's cues to back off.
- Create Your Workout Schedule. You might look at your old workout schedule and create a lighter version.
exercise.about.com
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| Overcoming Post-Holiday Blues
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Some post holiday "blues" may be due to the bills that start piling in, the let down of going back to a hum-drum schedule after all of the holiday excitement, and the physical effects of too many sweets and too little exercise, just to name a few. For some, an array of personal circumstances may have triggered the blues even before the holidays began. Whatever the cause, when necessary and appropriate, seek professional assistance with getting emotions back on track.
Below are a few tips that may help energize your body as you cope with the stresses in your life:
- Stay Well Hydrated. Recognize that caffeinated beverages may contribute to dehydration and feelings of fatigue. Aim for an intake of at least 8 glasses of water per day.
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Get your Vitamin C (antioxidant that plays a protective role). Colorful fruits and vegetables such as papaya, strawberries, broccoli, and citrus fruits are good sources.
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Get your Vitamin B (important for carbohydrate metabolism). Whole grains, cereals and breads, beans, potatoes, nuts, seeds, and non-fat yogurt and milk products are good sources.
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Get your Potassium (plays a vital role in muscles and nerves). Bananas, raisins, in the skin of potatoes, seeds, whole grains and beans are good sources.
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If you know that you are anemic, get your Iron (important for hemoglobin and the transport of oxygen in the blood). Seeds, nuts, beans, whole grains, mollusks, and blackstrap molasses are good sources.
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Get your Zinc (needed in enzymes involved in digestion and metabolism, and thus energy production). Sources include oysters, seaweed, seeds, Great Northern beans, and animal meats. Choose lean meats without added fats.
www.supermarketguru.com
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Limit your total fat intake and eat heart-healthy monounsaturated fats in place of saturated fats.
- Limit your refined sugar intake. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables instead.
See the
WOW archive for more on healthy eating for healthy living.
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| Recycling the Christmas Tree
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- Never burn your Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood stove. Burning the tree may contribute to creosote buildup.
- Towns/cities can provide curbside pickup and deliver trees to a chipping site. Chipped material can then be recycled as mulch, allowed to compost for municipal or residents use, and/or made available for sale (Chipping trees creates a recycled product that can be used as a mulch for walkways, flower beds &/or other ground cover uses- composted chips provide an excellent soil amendment when used as part of a total waste composting program).
- Check to see if your area has an eco-friendly means of disposing of trees.
www.christmascountry.com
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| More Tips from www.ehow.com
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- Write holiday thank-you notes
- Fine-tune your storage system for your tree trimmings and other holiday decorations
- Plan your budget for the upcoming year.
- Kiss that sugar high good-bye
- Tinker with your priorities to make sure they're still working for you.
- Designate a night for putting holiday photos in albums and frames or burning digital photos onto CDs.
- Set up a toy-storage system or you'll find that half the new toys are broken or have missing parts by Valentine's Day.
www.ehow.com/how_135331_reorganize-life-after.html
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