Well, we are a week from Christmas and the crazy season is in FULL EFFECT. Trying to maintain a ‘rhythm’ with your training and diet when your time and focus is split so many different ways…well, that’s almost impossible. Apparently (and you can read about it here: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/tips-beat-christmas-bulge) Australians’ gain between 0.8kg and 1.5kg over Christmas and up to 5kg over the ‘summer holidays’…none of which is a disaster I guess, but the problem of course is what is so easy to gain is not so always that easy to lose!
Anyway, because you don’t want to add ‘extra kgs’ to your list of holiday ‘stresses’, here’s a couple of quick hints that will hopefully see you get through the next couple of weeks in good style!
First off, it is probably best off to acknowledge up front that some pretty ‘good’ strategies for the other 11-months of the year…you know, stuff like not eating sugar, staying away from desserts, cookies, treats etc – just isn’t going to happen at THIS time of year. So that is not the approach to take…because if you make that your ‘plan’, and that plan FAILS (which it probably will), well, then you are likely to give up altogether. So planning for total abstinence is a bad idea.
It is also worth noting that the biggest problem you will face is that when you are heading off to Christmas/New Years parties and gatherings you are likely to eat a HUGE quantity of food (because the food is so great). Add to that the alcohol & other drinks… beer, wine, spirits, cool drinks…you can easily eat 3-days worth of calories (say, 4500 cals) at a single event. So…you have GOT to have a plan that gives you a chance!
Identify one event for each week of your holiday that you are going to ‘let yourself go’. This (of course) doesn’t mean to overdo everything and have to spend the entire next day on the couch recovering…it means a day/night where you just relax and do ‘whatever you want’. Of course, for this to work effectively, you’ve got to keep yourself on track during the other events…and that’s what comes next.
Pick ONE vice that you’re going to allow yourself to have over the holidays – JUST ONE. Set your weekly limit… and then decide how you’re going to allocate it over the course of the week. It should feel slightly challenging. For instance two glasses of wine every day would NOT be much of a limit (unless you regularly have 3x glasses per day!), however, 4x ‘wine-free-days’ might work! There are tonnes of examples you can use here depending on what YOUR ‘vice’ is…
There is so much amazing food to eat at this time of year – and that is what makes it so easy to go overboard. You should go in with a plan to ‘TRY’ everything – but treat it all like TAPAS…a small serve that leaves you wanting a bit more.
You shouldn’t have to worry about whether there will be ‘ROOM’ for desert…just have a taste of each of the amazing dishes on offer and at the end of the meal you will feel ‘full’ but not tired and lethargic.
This is the easy bit. Whenever there is some ‘casual’ activity going on at the event you are at – throw yourself into it. Kids playing in the pool? Jump in! Table Tennis table in progress? Grab a paddle. Bocce balls sitting on the grass? Pick them up and get a game going. (Of course, it goes without saying that EVERYONE plays backyard cricket AND that over-the-fence = 6 and out, ‘one-hand, one bounce’ IS a catch AND if you hit it, you MUST RUN!).
Of course, if you need help or have questions, well – that’s what we are here for! Grab us in the gym or email to michael@round1fitness.com.au.
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