It's easy to pack on the pounds during the holidays.  If you're not careful, they'll creep up on you.  Personal trainers share their expert advice for maintaining or losing weight in December.

When you are at the holiday parties or going out with old friends for lunch and/or dinner, it is easy to eat and eat…and eat. You can easily lose track of how many calories you are taking in.

One way you can avoid eating unhealthy foods at a Holiday party is to snack before you go.
 
Most personal trainers will also advise you eat 3 to 5 small meals a day and make sure they include lots of vegetables and protein like grilled chicken or fish.

Remember that exercise is key to weight loss and weight maintenance.

The more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories you're going to burn at rest.

Cardiovascular exercises like walking, running or group groove will start burning stored fat.  After that, you can add some resistance training like pushups or dumbbell exercises.  The resistance training will help build lean muscle mass and will eventually burn more calories.

Depending on your weight loss goals and your existing activity level it is may be a good idea to consult with your doctor before you start a new exercise program.

Original article – Fox News

Most people know what they need to do in order to lose weight. Eat less and exercise more. Believe it or not, diet is often the least challenging part of the equation for many. The issue comes down to finding an exercise that you like to do and that you want to squeeze into your busy schedule.

When we hear, “I just don’t have time to exercise”, let’s face it, if you loved it, you would find the time. Zumba is that exercise.  Inspired from Latin Dance, the word "Zumba" comes from a Colombian word that means to move fast and have fun.

Zumba is a high energy, cardio group exercise program that allows you to have fun while dancing while raising your heart beat, allowing you to burn calories. It is an optimal fitness choice, mixing cardio intervals with resistance training. An interval program with a resistance and cardio combination maximizes calories burned, fat burning, and toning.

The best part about Zumba is that it is fun with easy-to-follow dance steps.  A dance party with great music and uninhibited movement, it is so easy to do that you will want to squeeze it into your busy lifestyle. People forget they are working out during a Zumba class, the perfect choice for weight loss.

Lose weight with Zumba.  Effective body sculpting movements allows you to exercise longer, and burn more calories. Contact Answer is Fitness for the schedule of Zumba classes near you.

Losing weight isn't easy, but understanding how much activity it takes to lose 1 lb is important knowledge to help you lose 5lbs or even lose 10.

For every pound you want to lose, you'll need to eliminate 3,500 calories--through eating less, working out more or, for the most effective and healthy approach, a combination of the two. The good news is that your body burns energy just by being alive (each person's amount varies), so cutting a few hundred calories through diet and exercise will be enough to get you into a smaller size.

Not losing weight? You may be underestimating the number of calories you eat in any given day. Track your meals and calculate your calories burned working out. Pay attention to what you are drinking. Most people don't think about their beverages, but most have lots of calories.

It is recommended that you trim your calorie intake to 1,500 calories per day--no fewer, since eating too little can throw your metabolism off. In order to drop weight faster, you need to increase your activity. You'll burn more energy, which will bump up your calorie deficit.

You need to increase your metabolism to lose weight and fat once and for all. By combining nutrition, resistance training, cardio respiratory exercise, and personal assistance you will be on your way to the new, healthier and slimmer you.

For good nutrition and healthy living, eat right and increase your metabolism to lose weight and fat. By combining nutrition, resistance training, and cardio exercise you will be on your way to a healthy you.

The recommendation for produce consumption is 2 cups of fruit and 2 ½ cups of vegetables per day for most people. Not surprising, very few Americans meet this requirement. More than 75% of the population misses this required amount. Juicing fruits and vegetables is a great way to add fruits and vegetable to your diet and meet this goal.

The juice provides most of the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients available in fruits and veggies. The other benefit is that most people can easily drink 4-8 ounces of juice. One serving of vegetables is one cup raw, ½ cup cooked or ½ cup of juice. Juice also makes ingesting fruits and vegetables easy for those with digestive illnesses.

Juicing fruits and vegetables removes the fiber. So instead of a juicer, you can use your blender to process the produce. Or, drink 1 to 2 servings of fresh juice and continue to eat fresh produce too.

A Juicing Recipe for Beginners
6 C dark green leafy vegetable (like kale)
4 apples
2 carrots
¼ lemon or lime

Using a juicer, process all ingredients. Whisk, pour into a glass and serve. Makes 16oz.

Exercising is more fun with Zumba. What is zumba? It’s an aerobic fitness class that combines Latin music and easy-to-follow dance steps. It’s a dance party! The routines incorporate interval training, switching between fast and slow rhythms and resistance training. But, all levels of students find it easy to do, with low impact on joints and muscles, it’s just pure fun. At Answer is Fitness, our Zumba fans say it's popular because it is such a fun work out.

Much research shows that dance-type aerobic workouts like Zumba will improve cardiopulmonary endurance when you do it at moderate intensity. But the bottom line is if you enjoy what you are doing for exercise, than you're more likely to stick with it.
 
In a traditional aerobics class you count reps with music, but in Zumba you let the music move you. Zumba classes feature exotic rhythms with high-energy Latin and international music. Pretty soon, you are getting fit, having fun and your energy levels are soaring! There's no other fitness class like Zumba.