3 Quick Holiday Fitness Tips
Thanksgiving is this week, officially beginning the season when training and good nutrition get thrown out the window in favor of napping and large quantities of alcohol and dessert. Rather than letting this year get away from you like every other year, take a few simple steps to keep your fitness goals on track. It doesn’t take much.
Don’t Expect Perfection
I’m an all or nothing sort of guy. When I want to do something, I’m all in. When I don’t, I don’t even want to think about it.
If you train consistently, you might be the same way. But during the holidays, training as hard as you normally do might not be possible. Scheduling gets tough and travel interferes with good nutrition. You might not have access to a good gym while traveling.
On the other hand, you might just be starting to think about improving your fitness, but think that the holidays are a bad time to start. They aren’t. None of us are getting any younger, and how long have you put off getting back in shape already? You’ll feel so much more confident at parties, and your family will notice the positive changes you’re making.
No matter what, resolve to do SOMETHING SMALL every day that brings you closer to your goals. For an experienced lifter, it might be taking a planned low stress training period that allows you to recover from your months of work. If you’re just getting started, start your morning with a 10 minute walk or other low intensity activity. Everyone has 10 minutes. You’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel.
Clear Your Path for Success
It’s much simpler to change your behavior than you think. Often, we don’t have a willpower problem, we have an environment problem. If you leave trash food around the house for 2 months, you’ll eat it. It’s simple. I do it.
Enjoy your holiday meals with your family guilt-free! A couple meals over the course of a year mean nothing, so eat up with no regrets. But if you start treating EVERY meal this season like it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, you might find yourself putting on more than a few pounds.
To combat this, cook only portions that you know will be eaten during the meal. Don’t stock away container after container of leftovers.
Don’t keep bags of chips and cookies around the house that you’ll mindlessly snack on. Buy smaller containers. And don’t EVER put out bowls of mixed nuts or candy unless you have company. You’ll eat it without even realizing, adding hundreds of calories to your daily intake for no reason.
Use smaller plates for most meals. When I use large plates, I feel obligated to fill the whole thing up, then eat myself sick. Don’t be like me. Fill up a small plate.
It’s ok to throw out food. It may seem wasteful, but what’s the point of keeping junk around that is only going to hurt your health? If you really feel bad, take your family and volunteer at a food pantry. Cook smaller portions in the first place!
Watch your alcohol consumption. Limit yourself to one or two drinks at social functions, and don’t keep large quantities of wine or other beverages in the house after parties. If you need large quantities of alcohol to have fun, you have bigger problems I can’t address here.
Find Someone to Hold You Accountable
We aren’t in this alone. I have training partners that I bounce ideas off and that hold me accountable for working toward my own goals. You need the same thing, especially when life gets hectic.
Come up with some strategies for staying in shape this holiday season, then tell your friends and family what you’re doing and ask them to remind you of it. Don’t be the girl or guy at a party that tells EVERYONE what a great person they are because they’re on a diet and aren’t eating the cookies. That’s obnoxious. Tell the people that actually care about you and want you to succeed.
If you’re looking for a fitness trainer in the Mt Juliet/Hermitage/Nashville TN area, online fitness training, or just need some advice to get your fitness program started, contact me
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