Holiday Weight Gain

It's Beginning To Look a lot Like Christmas! 

How To Stay On Your Diet And Keep you Motivation Over The Holidays

Leah Britt (Certified Personal Trainer/Nutritionist)

I would hate to be the Grinch of Christmas dinner, but this year is going to be different! Why do holidays like Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas turn messages of love and giving into of food and weight gain?

Whether it’s one, three or seven pounds, experience says that most of us will gain weight between now and New Year’s Day. So it bears repeating that moderation is the key to enjoying a fun and healthy holiday season.

This year, shake off the ghosts of food-crammed Christmases past! Fill up instead on family and friendship rather than food and feasting. Make a concerted effort to fill your heart with love—not cholesterol—and you’ll start the New Year with a brighter outlook instead of a desperate resolve to shed pounds!

I'd like to share with you 8 ways that you can follow your diet and stay in great shape over the holidays without being  a Scrooge.

1. Expect to stay on your program over the holidays.

Failing to plan is  you planning to fail-  yes a pretty cliché statement, but it’s still some of the best success advice you will ever hear.

Not only do most people fail to plan, they consciously plan to fail over the holidays. Most people expect to “blow” their diet and skip workouts over the holidays. They expect to eat more, to exercise less and to gain weight. By the first week of January, they’re in the worst shape they’ve been in for a year and they frantically make New Year’s resolutions to shed the excess fat they’ve gained?? Why not just stay ahead?

Avoid this trap by planning to succeed! Set up a positive expectation. Already tell yourself that you will not tolerate slipping backwards! Not only can you plan to “stay in shape” over the holidays, you can plan to improve! Make the decision and expect success.

 2. Plan all your workouts in advance.

You know your schedule is going to get hectic over the holidays. You’ll be cooking, shopping, wrapping gifts, sending cards, going to parties, traveling, visiting family, and so on. To stay on your training and nutrition regimen is definitely going to take some sound time management skills. Remember there is only 168 hour in a week.

Plan your schedule in advance. Write it down. Put it on your calendar. By doing so, you won’t be caught unprepared. Tell yourself out of these 168 hours I definitely have 5-6 hours for my health. Use a schedule book or monthly calendar and “make appointments” for ALL your workouts for the entire holiday season. Then, post a copy where you will be forced to look at it every day. This is a powerful exercise that will keep you focused and force you to think about and prepare for each upcoming workout… AND LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!

Do this will your meals and snacks as well. That way time will never get past you. I like to set alarms on my phone to remind me to eat. Once you’ve done that, stick to your schedule religiously.

 3. Set some fitness goals over the holiday period.

Don’t wait until January 1st to set your goals just because you think it will be harder to achieve them over the holidays. On the contrary, studies on personal achievement have shown that you’ll usually reach 80% of the goals you put onto paper. Write it down!

Why wait? Why not do it now? Set some big goals that you can start working on during the holidays:

Set a goal to lose the 10 lbs you’ve always wanted to lose NOW! Set the goal to gain 10 lbs of solid muscle NOW!  Have you been contemplating a competition in bodybuilding, fitness or the new ladies figure division? Pick an early spring show and GO FOR IT - START TRAINING NOW! Sign up for a 10 K or a half marathon and start training NOW!

Goal setting should not be a once a year affair, it should be a continuous process. You should always have your goals in writing. If you only set goals once a year, you’re not going to accomplish much in your life. Remember to set  SMART Goals, Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time bound.

4. Give yourself permission to have “cheat days” – BUT schedule them in.

A planned “cheat day” helps you to stay on your program better in the long run. If you’re too strict all the time, you’re setting yourself up for cravings and bingeing.

One or two cheat meals per week will have very little effect on your physique. If you’ve been on a strict, low carb and/or low calorie regimen, a cheat meal might actually be beneficial for you! It will boost your metabolic rate to keep burning all those calories.

Over the holidays, schedule your dinners and parties so they fall on your cheat day. Then, on the other days of the week, be dedicated! Knowing you have a “cheat day” coming up will relieve the pressure of staying on a strict diet for a long time.

– ENJOY Yourself! If you’re going to eat it and feel guilty, then don’t have it at all. If you’ve stayed with the program all week long, then when “cheat day” rolls around, you deserve it!

 5. If you fall off the path, get right back on it.

Even if you fall completely off the wagon, don’t beat yourself up. All you have to do is get right back on your program without missing another beat. Keep It at a ruined meal not a ruined day.  Not a ruined Diet. Do not rationalize to yourself, “Well, I already slipped, so it doesn’t matter now, I might as well keep pigging out.”

Just because you mess up once doesn’t mean you should quit! You’re only human. Don’t let one small slip let you fall. Firmly plant your feet back on the ground and start moving forward again.

 6. Control your portion sizes.

You can have your cake and eat it too – you just can’t eat the whole thing! One of the most important rules to remember this holiday season is saying Yes and No to foods in jus the right BALANCE. Remember the “Input Output theory- which states: To lose body fat, you must consume fewer calories than you burn up each day.

There are two rules to this theory:

            1. Too much of anything gets stored as fat – even healthy food.

            2. Small amounts of anything – even junk food – will probably NOT get stored as fat.

There’s no reason to deprive yourself of things you enjoy. Just make sure you don’t overindulge. As long as you enjoy your favorite foods in moderation, and you keep working out, Remember if you can’t have it in BALANCE, then don’t’ have it.

7. Remain selfish with your health.

Keep your standards high, but don’t expect other people’s standards to be as high as yours. Remember that most people have already planned in advance to fail at fitness over the holidays. You’ve decided to stay strong (haven’t you?) Don’t let their negative influence drag you down.

When you’ve reached your drink limit, say “When” and switch to water or a non alcoholic, non caloric beverage. When they offer you seconds on dessert, politely say, “No thank you, it was absolutely delicious, but I’m full, I can’t eat another bite.” And when the wee hours of the morning start to roll around, and your friends are egging you on to keep partying, politely tell them you need your sleep. Tomorrow is a work out day. If they’re really your friends, they’ll understand. STAY SELFISH! This is about YOU.

8. If you drink, enjoy alcohol in moderation.

Yes and No in just the right BALANCE…If you enjoy having a few drinks on special occasions, then go ahead and have a drink or two. But if you’re serious about your fitness goals, you must drink infrequently and in moderation. Alcohol almost totally inhibits your body’s ability to metabolize body fat. When there’s alcohol in your bloodstream, you’re not in fat burning mode.

The impact goes beyond added body fat; your energy levels and workouts can be ruined for days after a night of heavy drinking. A glass of wine actually has some health benefits. But there’s NEVER a reason or excuse for binge drinking or getting drunk.

So go ahead and give yourself a toast to the New Year and to your Health—Just know when to say “When.”