Health Hack with @Amysfitnessandnutrition
What would you say if I told you that the average person ate 5,241 calories on Christmas Day? That’s over two marathons worth of energy … or nine hours at the gym. And I doubt that there’d be much time for any of that between the breakfast bubbles, Christmas cake and your Turkey or Ham.
It’s really important to relax and indulge but the problems with holiday weight gain often arise when people enter December with a ‘write off’ mentality. It’s a slippery slope - one night of overindulgence leaves us feeling fatigued and sluggish the next day. We’ll be less likely to exercise and more likely to eat more to make ourselves feel better and so it goes on.
We think… “I’m so busy, there are so many events, there’s no way I’m going to come out of this fitter not fatter…there’s no point”. If we start off like this, we’ve likely got no hope. So here are a few effective tools and strategies that don’t restrict you but might change your thinking.
Set some goals specifically for the festive season. These will likely be different to your goals for the rest of the year but (without a gym if you’re away) it might be to move every morning or 3 times a week at least. It might be to indulge in your favourite holiday treats but having one rather than seven. Keep them simple but even just the act of thinking about it will make you more conscious.
Start as you mean to go on (even if you don’t) Enter each situation of meal preparation, socialising or partying by starting with the healthy options first. Start with the veggies, meat and cheese on a platter before you touch any of the sugary sauces, crackers and chips that are easy to overeat. Then if you still want some for sure dip into your favourite Christmas treats. But if you start by eating the chips, cake, chocolate and sugary treats the likelihood is that’s what you’re going to want more of.
Keep up a workout of some sort I’ve banged on about how good morning exercise is for you before. The best part? Making it happen before any possible distractions can derail you. But the additional benefit to a morning sweat session is that it boosts your metabolism for hours afterwards. You’ll also enter the day with a more mindful approach that if you’ve rolled out of bed, straight into the last few squares of your advent calendar.
Have you set your goals yet?
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