If there’s one thing any personal trainer knows about the Christmas period, it’s that clients will likely indulge in a lot of food and drink. There’s nothing wrong with that at all - life is to be lived, and if you can’t enjoy some great food and drink at Christmas, when can you?!
A good personal trainer would have given you tools for how to tweak your diet to allow for extra calories anyway.
So, that’s the first point we wanted to make over… forgive yourself! You’ve not committed a crime - you had a few extra calories! It’s no big deal!
In this article we’re going to look at the Christmas period, what is can mean for diets, how we can indulge as much as we like and then get back on track. It allows you to have a great time, relax on the food front and then enjoy a return to normality!
You’ll be left with a simple plan to get back to where you started…
Why people freak out about Christmas ruining their weight loss…
The problem comes in the days after Christmas, where when people have enjoyed their mince pies and all of that great food they spiral into a bit of a mess. They think that because they’ve eaten their body weight in Turkey for a couple of days, all of their progress is ruined.
Let us give you some good news… it isn’t!
Any amount of food you eat for a couple of days over Christmas is likely to have a minor impact on your progress. Even if you jump on the scales after a couple of days and can see you’ve gained 5 lbs… it’s mostly just water.
Where it becomes an issue is when the 2-3 days around Christmas becomes a 7-10 day binge fest of booze and food. Your body will cope just fine with the short period of time. The extended period of over-eating is more of a problem. Not just because of the calories, but because of the difficulty of breaking out of those behaviour patterns.
Resetting after Christmas - your 5 step plan…
The size of the reset will be dependent on how big the interruption was! The longer you’re indulging, and the harder you hit the food and booze, the bigger the changes you need to make!
Here’s how you do it. Whether you do these steps over a couple of days or a week, it doesn’t really matter - just get them underway!
Step 1 - MOVE!
If you’re anything like me, eating and drinking is accompanied by a lot of sitting! This is a double-whammy. Not only are you consuming extra calories, you’re doing nothing to burn them.
It’s time for a pattern interrupt. In an ideal world, you’ll get to the gym and get a good sweat on. Chances are though, that’s not going to be top of your list of priorities! Instead then, get outside for a walk. You don’t need to walk up mountains, just get a few miles in. Shoot for 10k steps minimum.
It’s easier to move than it is to stop the eating I find, so start with the easy win.
Step 2 - Fast!
We’re fans of fasting here at AdMac Fitness, for various reasons - not just weight loss. In this case, fasting is really helpful. It doesn’t just stop you from eating, it gives your body and digestive system a break.
If you’ve been eating more than usual for a few days, you’ve given your body a lot of work to do. Help it out by giving it a break. Not only does it help the digestive system recover, it also allows your body to enjoy a hormonal reset. Digestive hormones return to normal levels, hunger hormones reset (after a little battle!) and your overall calorie consumption is down.
A fast of 18-24 hours is a great way to help you get used to not eating all the time too!
Step 3 - Drink more water
A lot of the food you would have eaten over the last few days will have been dehydrating, so you’re probably not going to be fully hydrated. Start by hitting 2-3 litres of water per day. It’ll help you stay full, it’ll rehydrate you and it’ll help keep you away from more booze!
Depending on where you read, your body is 60-70% water, so give it a helping hand by consuming enough of the good stuff!
Step 4 - Remove temptation
It’s really hard to avoid temptation if it’s around, so take steps to help yourself out. Your willpower WILL FAIL. I promise you.
Remove the temptation to keep eating all of the unhealthy food in the world by removing it. Give it away, throw it away, ask someone to hide it… do whatever you need to in order to get it out of your world! You’ll be glad you did.
It’s really hard to choose the vegetables when the chocolate cake is an option!
Step 5 - Get back to normal
After a few days, it’s time to get back to normal - whatever your version of that is. If you track calories, if you train daily to offset the food, if you fast, or all of the above, just get back on track.
The sooner you do it, the easier it is. That’s obvious, but it’s important to mention.
Your first intense workout in the gym might feel tougher than usual. Your first run might be slow and you might be out of breath. Your first bike ride might feel like you’re riding through treacle. That’s OK - you’ll get back to normal quickly. Just keep plugging away. Get back on the dietary horse too - make those great choices and get your consistency back.
Christmas and the Guilt…
We have a habit of feeling guilty when we indulge ourselves, but we shouldn’t. Yes, it might temporarily knock your goals out slightly, but that’s fine. It’s all recoverable.
The important thing is that you leave a little room in your life to have some fun, enjoy yourself and eat that great food! You can always be stricter on yourself after Christmas, but whilst the fun is to be had, make sure you have it! The AdMac Fitness personal trainers will be there to help you get back on track afterwards!
For more information on who we are, what we do and how we can help you achieve your health and fitness goals, contact us on… 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Our locations are…
AdMac Fitness Bow: 153-159 Bow Rd, London E3 2SE
AdMac Fitness South Woodford: Unit 4 Marlborough Business Centre, 96 George Lane, South Woodford, London, E18 1AD