If there’s one thing we know from working in fitness for so long… it’s that every year people will guilty for weight gain over the Christmas and New Year period. We always try to be reassuring, but sometimes those messages aren’t listed to very well.
In an attempt to try to get you to not worry about any weight you’ve gained, we’re going to give you a 8-tip list to help you drop the weight quickly and start feeling back to your best again…
Re-establish a sleep routine
This may seem like an odd one to start with… what does sleep have to do with weight loss? A lot, actually. Way more than you think. A good sleep pattern helps to regulate everything - hunger hormones, recovery from exertion, mood etc. Research shows that good quality sleep helps us to make better choices around food.
It’s easy to fall into weird sleeping patterns at Christmas - naps in front of the TV, late nights, long lie-ins etc. To help get back to normal, try to regulate this as well as you can.
Reduce the salty carbs
Much of the Christmas weight gain we suffer from can be linked to water retention. Two of the biggest culprits when it comes to water retention are salt and starchy carbohydrates. By reducing the intake of salty carbs and replacing them with high fibre foods (fruit and vegetables), you’ll watch the weight drop quickly.
Expect to be going to the toilet a lot as well - that retained water has to go somewhere!
Get moving!
This is an obvious one, but it’s important. At this point, you don’t need to kick the crap out of yourself - simply get moving. Get yourself up, start with some walking, perhaps some light cycling. A basic gym workout. Whatever you need to, but do something. My suggestion is you don’t go nuts from the off - start basic, build up from there.
Think frequency over duration and intensity here. Go for 30-45 minutes every day, rather than a 2 hour beasting then missing 5 days.
Hypermineralise
This is a trick used by athletes in a weight cutting sport - when they’re in the final stages of cutting weight, they need to give their body all the help they can by making sure it is full of vitamins and minerals. The simplest way of doing this is with a simple multivitamin every day.
Add to this plenty of fruit, vegetables and water, a bit of sun exposure (or vitamin D supplementation) and you’ll be well on your way.
Cut out the booze
We like a drink as much as the next person, but if you want to feel better quickly, one of the most important things you can do is get rid of the drink. Alcohol impacts sleep quality, makes you crave junk food, reduces motivation to train and generally doesn’t make you want to do much.
Not to mention the calories… there’s a reason they call it a beer belly!
Get rid of the temptation
Willpower is a limited resource - faced with temptation, it’s a matter of time before you give in to it. Rather than fight against yourself, just remove the temptation. Give away any treats you have left over. Throw stuff in the bin if you can’t find someone to take it from you.
If it’s not there, you can’t eat it. It’s as simple as that!
RELAX!
The final tip we have is to relax - Christmas is a short period of time and life is about balance. Yes, you may have gained a little bit of weight, but who cares? You can get rid of it quickly. Life would be dull if you tracked every calorie for 365 days per year. Every now and then you should be able to relax and enjoy yourself. Just make sure 3 or 4 days of indulgence doesn’t turn into 3 or 4 weeks of it!
Once you’ve committed to your mission again, get your head down and keep grinding!
Seek Help!
If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness.
We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We’ve helped literally hundreds of people from all walks of life achieve excellent health and fitness results - we can help you too!
