Ok – so you are on a health programme and Xmas is now ‘in the way’ of your progress and you will inevitably put on about 10lbs in the space of a day and that will be it. Game over. Job done. I am out of here. Health on the back burner – again as the most difficult decision you make on the day is what to do with the Bournville.
Let’s face it. You can let life get in the way or just make better choices.
If you think like the opening then of course you will fall flat on your face over Xmas.
Lighten up! Live! Enjoy the Xmas and all that it brings.
We are always making choices. Of course you never eat anything by accident.
‘Whoops I slipped on the carpet and fell upon a plate of donuts’
Or
‘Who put that cake there for me to eat the whole thing?’
Those kind of choices will get you in trouble. Hwoever, in the health improvement journey – a ‘good’ choice is sometimes all that is needed, rather than an ‘excellent’ choice.
So here are some good choices without needing to turn up to the relatives with Tupperware and a strict ‘No’ without doing too much damage.
Firstly, accept that dramatic transformations are going to be tough if you fall off your best intentions more than 20% of the time. Personal trainers aren’t perfect. Accept it. Build a bridge. Do not stress over it. The next meal, make up for it. You can actually make some serious inroads into your health this route because rather than trying to be Little Miss Perfect you accept you are human.
Stick to 3 splurges over the course of a week. Keep these splurges as meals. Save for them. Plan for them. Xmas day is sure to be one. A few drinks is bound to be another. Leftover meringue is bound to be another. If you want more – fine. Just don’t expect the body to thank you.
Trying eating up your veggies at the start of the meal. A big dose of fibre, alkaline minerals and vitamins and minerals awaits you. If you can add in a salad to each meal you will be doing really well. (I think most personal trainers are veggie obsessed)
Take a big glass of water about 30 minutes before any big meals. You will stop the cravings and eat less. In addition you will be nice and hydrated.
Sip on water throughout the day as much as possible. Add in some Himalayan Salt to every litre of water you drink.
What about Take Vitamin D and a good mixture of Ascorbates? These little powerhouses will keep most flus and nasty bugs at bay. If you learn how to ‘alkalise’ at our seminar in January you will be sure to see your health soar (For more information – make sure you sign up on the main page of our web site AND you get a free report on healthy fat loss)
Don’t skip meals either. Eat a breakfast, lunch and dinner and then one snack either mid morning or mid afternoon depending on when you need the blood sugar boost.
When you start skipping meals you tee yourself up for fat storage. Skip breakfast and you will eat more, particularly sugar. Skip lunch and you will feel like a sloth come 3 o clock and again reach for the kit-kats for pick-me-ups. Skip dinner altogether and you will be ravenous come 9pm and knock back a tub of Hagen Daas. You need to stay in control of your blood sugar and not let it control you.
The other nice thing about this is that you will, over time actually lose weight if you eat like this. Every time you leave huge gaps between meals you a) end up binging on crap when you do eventually eat and b) release hormones that tell your body to ‘hold onto fat’ because ‘we are not sure when we are seeing fuel again’.
You may find you are eating out a lot over the Xmas period leaving you vulnerable to other people’s food and drink habits. Eat according to your habits just before you leave. Either that or become resilient to your own standards rather than bow to other, probably less informed, standards.
It is your choice. You know what Christmas brings. On the most part a lot of fun. Focus on staying healthy rather than ‘eat this, don’t eat this’. Experiencing great health should be everyone’s goal.
However, over Xmas it becomes even more apparent. I mean do you want to be the neurotic stress head in the corner that no-one talks too because you haven’t eaten in days and are hung-over for the 5th day in a row.
Not my idea of fun. But then again I enjoy charades alongside classic Bond Movies and cooking the contents of Jamie Oliver Books.
John Lark is a personal trainer in dublin
Visit his web site www.personaltrainingindublin.com for a free fat loss report and
