Nutrition Corner November 2013:
Keeping lean over the holiday season-UPDATED
Don’t look like this over the holidays.
I was going to write an all-new article on this subject but thought why re-invent the wheel?
I wrote this one last year and decided to update it a little. With that in mind, here goes:
As holidays come around, whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving or New Year’s, you know there’s a high chance chocolate will be involved in your day and you may start to feel some anxiety with regard to how you’ll make it through with your nutrition plan intact.
Holidays do tend to be difficult because food is everywhere, so it will seem as though temptation is lurking around every corner. To add to that, people may be bringing food especially for you as gifts that you’d feel bad turning down. There is also temptation at work, cookies, cakes and snacks abound during the holidays. At home we have LEFTOVERS! I’m a huge fan of them, especially if you throw them in the frying pan with some nice butter.
With all of this in mind, how do you get through the holidays with your body composition intact? If you know a few key tips, it’s much easier than you may think.
Let’s have a look at what you need to do.
Design A Very Effective Workout Program
The very first thing that you need to be doing to survive the holidays is making sure that you design a very effective workout program. Since you likely won’t be spending quite as much time as normal at the gym, you want to make sure that every minute you are in the gym counts double time.
Consider transitioning to a full-body workout that contains only compound lifts. By using compound lifts rather than isolated movements, you’ll be sure to stimulate your metabolism to burn fat faster and longer post-workout. For more info on this, see my article on Holiday Weight Gain.
Then, add in some cardio intervals during your rest periods. Grab a rope and start skipping or simply perform some jumping jacks on the spot.
This way you can get your cardio training in while you do your weight lifting, reducing the need to do two separate sessions.
If you don’t know how to design an exercise program, try one of our 4-week mini-camps for December or take Gutts and Butts or Kettlebell class. The Total Performance Method, Awesome Camp, Olympic Lifting Camp and 531 all have discounted rates for the month of December so you can give them a shot and keep yourself on track throughout the holidays and the rest of the year.
Pre-Plan Which Meals You’ll Indulge In
The next must-do if you want to survive the holidays is to take the time to pre-plan which meals you will indulge in.
Will you treat yourself to the office work party? Or perhaps you’d like to indulge when you and your significant other cook a fancy dinner together. Don’t forget about when you go out after work with your friends for wings and beer to celebrate. Family gatherings count, too!
As long as you plan for the indulgence and stick to your meal plan the rest of the time, you shouldn’t have a problem meeting your weight maintenance goals. It’s when no plan is in place that you’ll start to falter as you’ll either restrict yourself entirely, and then binge because of these highly restricted feelings or you’ll start to indulge a little too much and show no self-control.
Planning sets you up for success.
Be More Active Everyday
Finally, the last thing to consider to help prevent holiday weight gain is to make sure that you get active as much as possible. Take walks as frequently as you can throughout the day and join your friends for window shopping rather than coffee and donuts.
Everything will add up and then if you do happen to take in more calories than you should that day, it shouldn’t pose as much of a threat to your body weight.
Keep these points in mind as you head through the holidays. As long as you are well-prepared and taking steps to ensure some activity is carried out, you shouldn’t suffer the weight gain most people do at this time of year. Remember to take advantage of all TPS has to offer you, as well.
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