With Thanksgiving and winter breaks looming ahead, some students are looking forward relaxing on the couch, catching up on soap operas, eating holiday sweets and sleeping until noon.

Unfortunately, in the midst of this routine, exercise habits can be put by the wayside, experts said.

“Inactivity during the holidays has a lot to do with frame of mind,” said Deb Atkinson, temporary instructor of health and human performance. “You’re out of your schedule, so you don’t even try.”

As students take advantage of their carefree breaks, the inactivity can lead to higher readings on the bathroom scales, said Josh Dewey, exercise physiologist at the ISU Wellness Center.

“It is not unusual to put on weight during the holidays,” he said.

However, there are many unique ways to be active during the holidays. “The holidays give you the opportunity to do things you normally wouldn’t do,” Dewey said.

Getting out and playing in the snow provides excellent opportunities to get exercise, he said.

“Let loose and have fun,” he said. “Build snow men, have snow fights and build snow forts.”

Cascading down snow-laden hills gives winter thrills, but dredging back to the top is probably the best exercise to do in the snow, Dewey said.

“You can have a ton of fun sledding down the hills, but you have to get up some how,” he said. “Walking up those hills will get your heart rate up very high.”

Shopping, another traditional holiday activity, often gives more than just the credit card a workout, Dewey said. “It’s a great way to get exercise and get your shopping done,” he said.

Even baking Christmas cookies can provide extra activity.

“Try making the food instead of just eating it,” Dewey said. “Do anything you can to be active.”

If it gets too cold to exercise outside, Atkinson said, there are many ways to burn calories indoors. Jumping rope and working out with an exercise ball are a few options to burn some calories, she said.

“For some, it’s all or nothing,” Atkinson said. “They let the flood gates down and couch it, eating whatever they want. If you exercise, you will be better with every area, including the food you eat.”

If the end of the break rolls around and the tennis shoes are still in the same place as they were when students left from campus, experts said students should have no fear.

“If you take a couple of weeks off from exercising, it won’t take long to get back to where you were before break,” Dewey said.

However, he encouraged students to try to included some exercise into their holiday schedules.

“You don’t have to get in all of your usual exercise,” he said. “Just get in a little bit to off-set some of the extra food you eat.”

So before unfastening the belt and passing out by the fire this Thanksgiving, do as Atkinson recommends.

“Go on a turkey trot after the big meal,” he said, “and bring your family with you.”