Let’s face it, the holidays are a lot of fun, but they are also a time when people typically gain weight. The number one New Year’s Resolution is to get in shape and lose weight. Why? Because people feel like crap after the holidays are over from weeks of overeating and drinking. It is a vicious cycle, but it is one that can be avoided.
There are a few things you can do to make sure you don’t gain excessive amounts of weight and take significant steps backwards in your personal fitness this holiday season.
1. Have a fitness plan that you can stick with – Most people struggle to workout during the holidays because they get out of their regular routine. People travel, work schedules become hectic, and the kids are out of school. Don’t set yourself up for failure by committing to a fitness plan that you can’t follow through with. You are a lot better off planning to workout 4 days a week and hitting all of them, then planning to workout 6 days a week and only getting 4. The workouts completed are the same, but the mental perception is one of failure, because you missed 2 workouts. Getting on a plan that you can follow will help you avoid excessive weight gain and loss of fitness.
2. Think and eat 80/20 – Tony Horton turned me on to the 90/10 plan. That means 90% of the food you eat is good quality food and 10%, well…not so much. Shoot for 80/20 over the holiday season. If you just limit your intake of junk to 20% of your diet, you may end up gaining a few pounds, but you won’t gain the sort of weight sends people into gyms in droves every January.
3. Understand what you are eating – This is good advice for daily nutrition, but really take the time to think about it. Do you really need 4 glasses of egg nog? One cup of low fat eggnog is 191 calories, with almost 9g of fat (most of which is saturated fat) (source – http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/nutrition/All_Foods/Dairy_and_Eggs/Eggnog_made_with_2_lowfat_milk.html). Drink four of those and most people will have consumed half a day of calories. Add alcohol and the number skyrockets. Just think about it. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have any eggnog, just be aware of what you are doing and how it is going to impact your body. The rule applies to a wide variety of holiday foods.
4. Have a support system – This is really important. If you can’t find some support locally, check into our message boards. The main page is at www.getfitwithmonica.com, but we’ve started a thread especially for this purpose called the P90X Holiday Challenge (you don’t have to be on P90X to participate). You can find that thread by CLICKING HERE. Feel free to stop by. Everyone is welcome.
5. Commit to a serious post-holiday workout plan – What? A New Year’s Resolution to get fit? Sure, why not? If you have a workout plan that you can follow during the holidays, commit to limiting your intake of junk foods to no more than 20% and take the time to understand what you are eating during this time of year, then you’ll be in a great position to take on something that will really get you to the next level of fitness. I’m not talking about something to maintain your fitness. I’m talking about a program like P90X, Insanity, or ChaLEAN Extreme. Something serious. Get committed to that now and it will help you to stay focused during the holiday season. You’ll be thinking about all the hard work you are going to do and you won’t want to sabatoge yourself by binge eating and drinking.
So there you have it. My tips to avoid gaining weight and losing your fitness over the holiday season. It isn’t rocket science. None of this really is. It is about being committed to yourself and your fitness and understanding that life gets hectic at times and we have to adapt.
Dave
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