1.) Don’t Stress, Have Fun!
- Might seem weird that the first tip for not ruining your fitness results is about stress, but this is the most important thing. Keep your hormones under control, enjoy the time you get to spend on the holiday and don’t beat yourself up about having fun. If you follow this tip, you will have a MUCH easier time getting back to the program right after Christmas.
2.) Drink A LOT Of Water!
- Why so much water? Couple reasons. First off, water is a great appetite suppressant so if you keep on drinking water throughout the day it is pretty likely that you will not over eat. Second reason is because of dehydration. Most people are running around like crazy all day, drinking wine, rushing to set things up, eating really high sodium foods and stressing out. All things that will results in less hydration and more junk food, so keep some water near by.
3.) Get Your Greens Drink In!!
- This is simple… Who on God’s green earth remembers to eat their veggies on Christmas?! Not very many! And if you do, it’s most likely a little spinach in a delicious quiche that your mom is going to make for you… Yup, speaking for myself on that one. So what’s the best way to get the greens in? Simple, drink a greens drink! Even better, drink two! This will give you the digestive enzymes you’ll need to digest all that damn chocolate as well. My recommendation is to go with Onnit’s EGN (Earth Grown Nutrients), which tastes amazing and is top-notch quality. Find it here, under the food tab.
4.) TRAIN!
- That’s right, you got to make sure you’re training around this holiday. Now by no means do I expect you to go run hill sprints Christmas morning before opening gifts, but you should get a training session in on Christmas Eve and most definitely the day after. Refer back to my Thanksgiving article, same concept here and I gave a great approach to how to train on these kinds of days.
5.) Strategize Your Eatery!
- What do I mean by this? Simple, plan what you will eat out and stick to the plan. Rather then going in “Guns Blazin”, stick to a game plan and ACTUALLY enjoy the holiday food. Eat little bites of everything, sip some wine, and don’t listen to your cravings over your mind and feelings. If you go into this overly excited about everything that will be there, you’re likely to binge and eat too much. This only results to bad feelings about yourself and feeling sick as hell the next day. So just remember, enjoy a little bit of it all and spread it out throughout your day.
6.) Plan A Low Calorie Day!
- The day after Christmas it is likely that we will all be stuffed like Turkeys and feeling a little porky, but you know what?! That is ok, once a year! But when we look at fat loss it is usually about a weekly caloric deficit or weight loss rather than a daily deficit or loss. Which is why I think of it this way… you’ll be eating too many calories on Christmas day, therefore drop some calories the next day (specifically from fat and carbs). It’s pretty simple, you can start by fasting for 14-16 hours the day after or you can simply just eat less. Load up on protein and veggies for this day.
7.) Help The Server or Host!
- Couple reasons this is a good thing, but the first is the most important… it’s Christmas! So don’t be a jackass, help whoever is hosting you at their house! This is not only just a really nice thing to do on this type of holiday, but it will keep you busy… as in too busy to sit there drinking glass after glass of wine while snacking on grandmas cookies! So be helpful, set the table, help cook or do whatever that person would like help with. You’ll feel great after words and will not feel bloated or stuffed from too many treats.
8.) Choose To Eat!
- Last but not least, I want YOU personally to CHOOSE to eat. Even if it is a Christmas cocktail, a cookie or a big ol’ piece of pie. The key here is it is your choice and you should NEVER feel bad about that. It is Christmas and you deserve to go off track every once and a while, especially on a family holiday like this. So rather then being overwhelmed or letting someone’s influence turn you into a garbage disposal, empower yourself to do what you want on this day. You’ll most likely find, if you really look inside your feelings, that you don’t want to pig out, overeat or gobble down everything in sight. You’re more likely to eat lighter, try a little of all the things you ACTUALLY enjoy or want, and the result will be a much happier holiday.
With Holiday Spirit,
Merry Christmas From Yours Truly
Boom-Boom.
