#1… Watch out for the liquid calories. Alcohol in particular has some pretty huge caloric numbers. To help reduce these numbers you’ll need to watch what you’re eating in conjunction with your liquids. If you’re going to drink more than a couple of drinks, make sure your food isn’t equally high in calories. Avoid foods that have a high G.I. like bread and pasta and make sure you get a good dose of dietary protein in before you start your celebrations. Both protein and a sensible amount of fat can reduce the harm those high carb meals can cause. Yes, even those liquid meals.
#2… Just cause it’s there doesn’t mean you have to eat it. Be sensible. You don’t HAVE to fill your plate when at a buffet. If you really are hungry, you can always go back for seconds. Often you’ll find that you don’t need to.
#3… Move Your Butt. When the holiday season hits, your good habits often go on vacation, including your exercise routine. If you don’t have time to get to the gym or to your trainer, don’t just write your exercise off, esp if you know it’s going to be a food filled day. Try this little 15 min rountine. Mark out 25m that you can run. 25 big steps should come close if you don’t have a measure wheel. (Who would have a measure wheel anyway??) Warm up however you wish for 5 min. (not stretching… moving)
5-7 min Routine
-Do 20 air Squats & 10 Push Ups
-Run to your 25m mark and back
-Do 18 Squats & 8 Push Ups
-Run to your mark
-Keep going until you’ve completed 6, 4 and 2 push ups
-Finish with your run.
Stretch and recover for 5 min.
Done… No excuses!
#4… Drink lot’s of water. Most people just don’t drink enough of this basic yet essential substance. The big issue with this during the food epedemic season, is that if you’re even partially dehydrated, your body will often insist that it’s really hungry when in fact you’re just plain thirsty. Don’t forget also that alcohol is a diuretic and the big reason why we wake up the next day feeling “Oh So Crap.”
#5… Make a plan to get back into your good habits. Like all good goals, you’ll need to assign a particular day and action to your plan. You might start the New Year by filling out a food diary from the 4th to the 11th. Food diary’s do a great job of ‘keeping things real.’ You might also action plan your gym program to start on the 4th or even sign up for a Boot Camp. (Our next Boot-ee Camp starts on the 11th of Jan ;o)
Keep training gang and remember, every time you move, your body loves you!
Duncan
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