This holiday season don’t be trendy – avoid the Seasonal Seven (the average weight in kilos that the New Zealanders gains between 1 December and 6 January). That’s one trend you don’t want to partake in!
Since the holidays are traditionally a time for entertaining and over indulgence you probably prefer not to think about health & fitness between these times. Don’t worry! The celebrations don’t have to be eliminated or avoided. You can have a great time while also maintaining your weight and your fitness regimen.
Moderation is the key to having a healthy holiday season. There are two typical approaches to the seasonal festivities:
- Throw all healthy habits out the window and indulge in every guilty pleasure (feels great at the time sucks afterwards)
- Starve and binge approach (for example, you eat nothing all day long to allow yourself to overindulge in party food. Never been a fan of this one) Of course, neither approach is successful at maintaining a healthy, fit lifestyle throughout the holiday season.
The key is found in moderation. With a moderate approach, both to what you eat (or don’t eat) and how much exercise you do (or don’t do), you can avoid packing on those extra kilos.
Here are some tips to help you during those chaotic holiday weeks:
Create a plan ahead of time. Create a plan for incorporating fitness and proper nutrition into your daily routine. Evaluate your holiday timetable and determine how much time you will realistically have available to allocate to working out and/or eating healthy meals.
Don’t put your fitness goals on hold until the New Year. If you can’t exercise as often during this time period as you normally do, adjust appropriately. Don’t use the excuse that since you don’t have time for your full workout you just won’t workout at all. Instead accept your limited availability and simply reduce the frequency and/or duration of your exercise.
On the day of a party, be sure to eat regularly all day long. If the party is in the evening, eat breakfast, lunch and a snack before hand (just as you would on any other day). Once you are at the party, go ahead and indulge in some of the fun, delicious foods. Since you have eaten meals earlier in the day, you probably will find that you aren’t tempted to go overboard and eat everything in sight. However, if you starve all day long attempting to save up all your calories for the party, you will be so famished by the time it begins that it will be difficult not to overeat.
Schedule your workouts. Mark them on the calendar and set-aside time to complete them. Consider them as important as any other appointment or event you have marked on your calendar.
Shorten your workouts & increase the intensity: On days that you really lack enthusiasm or simply do not have time for your complete exercise routine, commit to do just 20 minutes of exercise. Increase your intensity for a shorter duration.
Hopefully these tips will help you find a balance between staying fit and also enjoying the merriment of the season.
Remember, moderation is the key. Have a great holiday season!