Burn, Baby, Burn

f your winter motto is "eat, baby, eat," you're gonna have to burn, baby, burn-calories that is. I don't expect you to forgo your favorite foods this holiday season, but if you want to prevent the usual two-to-five pound weight gain most people experience, then physical activity is crucial. Although most people eat more and exercise less in the winter, you can still burn extra calories without hitting the gym more often than usual. Following are some calorie-burning strategies you can use throughout the day to help work off those holiday treats:

• Shopping is a great opportunity to burn extra calories. When doing your holiday shopping, park as far away from your destination as possible. Walk briskly to the store to help get your heart rate up and burn calories. If you're at a shopping mall, take a lap or two around the structure to stoke the fire even more.

• Stairs provide a great urban gym, since they help tone your derriere and get your heart rate up quickly. Whenever possible, choose the stairs over an escalator or elevator.

• At work, don't allow yourself to sit for more than one hour at a time. Every hour get up, walk around the office, and even venture into the stairwell to climb a few flights. This type of interval exercise is actually quite invigorating and can help you focus on your work when you do return to your desk. On your way back to your desk, pass up the candy bowl and go directly to the water cooler for a glass of water. Water helps prevent dehydration, flush fat and toxins out of your system, and suppress appetite.

• Stretching burns calories, too. You can do some simple back, neck, and shoulder stretches while sitting up straight at your desk, with feet planted on the floor, and knees bent at a 90° angle. Try slow neck rolls and shoulder rolls (slow shrugs) in both directions. To stretch your lower back, as you inhale, lift your chest and sit tall. As you exhale, gently roll your torso over your lap, bending from the hips and leading with your chest. Allow your head and arms to hang down freely and take a few relaxing breaths. Gently roll up to the starting position on an inhale.

• You can even build abdominal and thigh muscles at your desk. Sit tall as described above. Hold the arms of your chair firmly, squeeze your legs together and lift your feet a few inches off the ground. Hold for a few seconds and repeat. For thighs, sit tall and alternate lifting one foot off the floor at a time. Hold each lift for 5 seconds.

• Watching TV can go from being a sedentary activity to being a physical activity when you use commercial breaks as muscle-building opportunities. Do a different exercise for the duration of each break. Lunge across the room, use the sofa as your guide as you squat (keep your weight back in your heels for both exercises), get on the floor and do abdominal crunches, roll over and do some push-ups or modified push-ups (with your knees on the floor), or lay on your side to do some leg lifts.

• Cardiovascular exercise and strength-training are still the winning combination for maximum calorie burning. Try to do cardio for at least 20 minutes three days a week and strength train at least 20 minutes two to three days a week. You don't have to exercise at the gym or even combine the two activities on the same day to maximize your benefits.

The calories you burn by adding extra movements and activity whenever possible can add up to help balance out your extra calorie intake. If you're having trouble getting motivated, remember that exercise boosts your spirits and relieves stress, which can help improve your mood (and therefore prevent some emotional eating). Exercise is also an appetite suppressant, which comes in handy when you're trying not to overeat. Finally, if you're really having trouble getting yourself to the gym, remind yourself that a good workout can kick your metabolism into high gear for up to 12 hours!