The snow before January is white and crisp—take a picture and post it on Instagram.
The colors of Christmas lights radiate your neighborhood—tell a story on Snapchat.
You enjoy some holiday cheer with friends and family—tag your besties and siblings on Facebook. No, wait—you better not post that picture. Your face looks fat, and you don’t want your Facebook friends to see that you’ve packed on poundage.
The holidays are filled with magic, but that magic can often dispelled by an online sedentary lifestyle that results in weight gain. We sit on the couch. We gaze into our phones. We shop online. We get groceries delivered. We take selfies. We cook less. We gaze into our phones. We send gifs to our friends. We place mobile food orders. We post pics of our dogs, cats and food. We eat.
Did I mention we sit on the couch?
Our waistlines suffer from this introverted lifestyle, but so do our holiday moments and memories. Here are five things that will help you tip the scales and make the most out of the holiday season:
Put Down Your Phone. Interact with humans instead of interacting through a 6.1 inch diagonal screen. The offline world is filled with sights, sounds, and smells—a feast for your senses. Plus, if you go out for a day of shopping, you can burn up to 750 extra calories. To burn even more, walk the stairs instead of riding the escalators, or make extra trips to your car to drop off gifts. Use your legs, they were put there for a reason.
Do More Chores. A half hour of cleaning can burn over 100 calories, and an hour of doing laundry can burn up to 150 calories. When you get home from work or errands, a clean house and clean clothes will be waiting for you.
Eat Salads. Salads are a great way to eat more fruits and vegetables. When ordering salads, however, be aware extra calories from salad dressings—they can sometimes account for half the total calories of the salad. Ask for your dressing on the side so you can control your portions.
Get it Grilled. Sometimes the calories of a fried chicken sandwich or salad can outnumber the calories of a half-pound cheeseburger. Ask your server how your chicken is prepared; if it is fried or breaded, go grilled.
Don’t Eat Cheese. Give it a try. Cheese is on EVERYTHING. One serving of cheese or cheese sauce can be anywhere from 50-100 calories (about 20 minutes of walking). The sandwich tastes just fine without the cheese. Use salsa or mustard for dipping sauces since they are much lower in calories.
This year, embrace the offline world and avoid future diagnoses of “text neck” and smart phone-induced depression. Instead, waltz into 2020 a few pounds lighter with holiday memories posted to your brain instead of your social media account.
Mike Sieminski 
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