Happy Boxing Day! A super simple tip today – just try to relax! If you have the luxury of not working today then have a lie in, spend time with friends, family, (or animals) that you love, maybe take a gentle walk, enjoy yummy leftovers and Christmas tv etc.
If you’re working then take some time out this evening to do something that you enjoy. Don’t stress about what you’ve eaten, or how little exercise you’ve done, just enjoy the tastes and yummy food, two days won’t kill you! Get back to your normal eating and training pattern tomorrow and you’ll be back on track in no time.
Managing the amount of calories we consume can be especially difficult during the festive season. Ideally, we want to find a happy balance between joining in with the fun without going totally overboard and ruining our healthy eating regime!
This is the advice I give my clients:
#1 Spread the damage – if you have an event coming up try to cut down kcals in the days leading up or after. I’m not suggesting you starve yourself as that will result in overeating later. Instead try to save 100-200 kcals a day for a few days to buffer the social event e.g if you have a Friday party where you may overeat/drink by 800-1000 kcal, reduce your daily intake by 200 kcal from Mon to Thurs. You’ll barely notice 200 kcals a day!
#2 Cut the Booze – Drink is the biggest contributor to weight gain during the holidays. Often we drink socially over several hours so it’s hard to track. You could stick to low calorie drinks – but what if you don’t like them? The best thing is to drink what you want and control the quantity instead. Plan for a set number of drinks (e.g 4/5) of whatever you like. That way you’ll appreciate it but not feel deprived. In addition drink a big glass of water before you start (as you’re bound to be dehydrated from all the festive rushing about) to help prevent you being thirsty and knocking back the first drink too fast. Have a glass of water after every couple of drinks too.
#3 Keep Active – incorporate a little activity in to your Christmas Day. Face it – we’re all going to over eat on Xmas day (an average of 4000 – 5000 kcals). You’re not going to burn that off in one day, but it will make you feel good if you get active – maybe an early morning run, or a post lunch family walk, or an evening walk to look at the xmas lights!
#4 Don’t Stress – try not to stress too much about those extra Christmas day kcals. As long as they’re not representative of your normal intake the effects of the overindulgence will be short lived. Get back to your normal eating and training pattern as soon as you can after the festivities and you’ll be back on track in no time!
In the days between Christmas and New Year it can be so easy to just slip in to a pattern of mindlessly eating too much and skipping those workouts. It’s the Christmas and boxing day extended hangover… And it’s nearly New Year where you’ll do it all again so why bother being healthy In-between right?… Wrong!
Well aside from the fact that it will make you feel better and less sluggish,it’s a whole 3 or 4 days where you can limit the amount of damage from the festive period! Plus it will make it so much easier to get back to normal eating again in the New Year. So get back on that wagon even if only for a day or two, eat well but mindfully, do your usual workouts or get some activity in somehow and regain a bit of normality if you can! Your body and mind will thank you!
If you still have a house full of food then freeze the leftovers (they’ll be fine!), hide the chocolate and booze and stock the fridge with lots of green stuff to help the process! All that chocolate and wine will still be there for New Year and beyond and you can indulge then if you want! 😀
Short and sweet (literally) today as it’s nearly Christmas! And I thought it might be good to offer a little reminder that it doesn’t always have to be about the nutritional value of the food you’re eating. Food serves a purpose beyond pure fuel – it’s also an emotional activity. We enjoy eating and we enjoy food, and we enjoy the associations we make with food.
So you could wake up on Christmas morning and have a nutritious breakfast of poached eggs and avocado on toast, and a small cappuccino. It will undoubtedly taste delicious and set you up for your day. Or, because it’s Christmas, you could decide you’d rather enjoy the perfectly acceptable breakfast of 5 celebrations, 6 Terry’s chocolate orange segments and 6 gold
coins! It’s only a day, and unless you’re eating chocolate for breakfast everyday you’ll be fine. And as you can see from the comparison – if calories are what’s important to you – there’s not much in it anyway! lol!
Managing the amount of calories we consume can be especially difficult during the festive season. Ideally, we want to find a happy balance between joining in with the fun without going totally overboard and ruining our healthy eating regime!
This is the advice I give my clients:
#1 Spread the damage – if you have an event coming up try to cut down kcals in the days leading up or after. I’m not suggesting you starve yourself as that will result in overeating later. Instead try to save 100-200 kcals a day for a few days to buffer the social event e.g if you have a Friday party where you may overeat/drink by 800-1000 kcal, reduce your daily intake by 200 kcal from Mon to Thurs. You’ll barely notice 200 kcals a day!
#2 Cut the Booze – Drink is the biggest contributor to weight gain during the holidays. Often we drink socially over several hours so it’s hard to track. You could stick to low calorie drinks – but what if you don’t like them? The best thing is to drink what you want and control the quantity instead. Plan for a set number of drinks (e.g 4/5) of whatever you like. That way you’ll appreciate it but not feel deprived. In addition drink a big glass of water before you start (as you’re bound to be dehydrated from all the festive rushing about) to help prevent you being thirsty and knocking back the first drink too fast. Have a glass of water after every couple of drinks too.
#3 Keep Active – incorporate a little activity in to your Christmas Day. Face it – we’re all going to over eat on Xmas day (an average of 4000 – 5000 kcals). You’re not going to burn that off in one day, but it will make you feel good if you get active – maybe an early morning run, or a post lunch family walk, or an evening walk to look at the xmas lights!
#4 Don’t Stress – try not to stress too much about those extra Christmas day kcals. As long as they’re not representative of your normal intake the effects of the overindulgence will be short lived. Get back to your normal eating and training pattern as soon as you can after the festivities and you’ll be back on track in no time!
Every Step Fitness 