There is something special about December. During this time of the year, it feels as if life changes its tread. It starts going in a different way and everything that takes place happens out of the plot. This is completely true for workouts and nutrition. A lot of people behave as if the closer Christmas comes, the closer we are to the end of the world. So it doesn’t really matter what we do in December, because there will be nobody to endure the consequences of our unconscious behavior and choices. We behave as if the end of the world is coming and we should make up for the time, we won’t have in the future. We do our best when it comes to spending money, eating and resting ( understand not a real rest, but something more like laziness).
Actually holidays have a different meaning, which I won’t bother explaining here. Today I will redirect your attention towards the mistakes, you shouldn’t make if you want to be in shape during the holidays and after them.
1.Don’t eat as if the end of the world is coming.
The abundance of food that we have over the holidays is around us all year round. Now you will say: “My grandma’s pie is there, just, on Christmas!” Actually every food is available all year round. We just need more desire to prepare it!
I notice that one of the reason, most people cannot resist the variety of foods on the holiday tale is that we rarely take the time to cook throughout the year. We rely more on packaged foods and fast food. We behave as if some foods are “special” and they should be deserved. Let me tell you something! The only way to deserve a food is by cooking it yourself. We do not need to postpone the eating of one thing or another, all year round, just to end up overeating and trying to make up for the whole period of deprivation.
Just think what would happen if instead of overeating for 5 days, we spread this food throughout the year! We would neither feel physically or mentally bad, because we’ve overeaten; nor would we destroy what we’ve worked so hard for through the year.
In this case, my advice is to use smaller plates and size your portion beforehand. Every time you place huge pans in front of you, you will unconsciously eat more. After all when you have a pan with 10 steaks, two steaks in your plate don’t seem that much. When you have a whole pan of pie, 3 pieces of pie don’t look that much. ( here I wrote why)
I am a fan of what gets measured, gets accomplished. Here I am not talking about counting calories or calculating something. If the size of your plate is a measure of the quantity of food you eat, choose the smaller plate. Thus, even if you get tempted to eat a second helping, you will once again eat less.
Besides that, do not forget that your nutrition is not with the mere goal to lose weight, but also to change your lifestyle. Why would you go back to your old habits? Why instead of celebrating the opportunity to eat everything inside, don’t you try to celebrate your new lifestyle? Why not turn these holidays into an occasion to celebrate your health and your mindful living? Trust me! There isn’t a food, that brings as much pleasure as knowing that you respect your own self and your body and that you are taking care of it.
Every time my mind tempts me to make a choice, I ask myself: “Is that good for my body?”
If my body whispers that overeating will make it feel bad, tired and sluggish, I’d rather not do it.
Let these holidays be different. Instead of rolling around, like heavy, stuffed balls let us e full of energy and enjoy our health and our bodies.
2.Forget about working out
Yes! That’s what I mean! Most people worry that they have to travel and that they won’t be able to train. As you learned HERE, working out Is not the most important thing. What matters is movement and it has a lot of forms. Instead of spending the holidays, by wondering where you will find an open gym or go to the other extreme and sit all day long, use your leisure time to move more.
If you are traveling, I am sure that close to you, there will be e a beautiful place for a walk in nature. You can always do a couple lengths of walking lunges uphill or some sprints! Just like this – spontaneously!
Every time when you stay longer at home, on every hour stand up and move a little bit – do 10 burpees ( I will finish the post and I will do mine, what about you?); then do 10 push-ups; in a couple hours do 10 squats. Thus, at the end of the day if you are awake for 16 hours and 10 of them, you’ve spent at home, you will have 10 exercise of 10 rep. You won’t even feel it, but you would have moved the whole day.
And when a person moves, his body feels toned, and it doesn’t starve for food from boredom. And last but not least, such a small action, could lead to an avalanche of other positive actions – you know how one smile from a stranger is more than enough to make you do 5 more, good things for others. It is the same with movement – sometimes 10 squats can motivate you to go for a walk, clean the house or whatever it comes to your mind.
MOVE MORE!
3.Don’t stick to a particular schedule
The first thing, that a person who decides to get in shape does is to follow a strict nutrition and training plan and schedule. Everything is great, until the moment when the schedule is interrupted. Something like the lessons at school – you study them by heart and when somebody interrupts you, you forget everything and you should start over.
Realize that the life lived according to a schedule is the biggest mistake we could make. When you start listening to your body and feeling when and what you need, then you won’t need these strict plans, which are supposed to serve you as security and base. Then you will know, that no matter where you are, you always choose the best for your body!
Actually, right now you should abandon the strict schedule. Just because you will need to wait for the Christmas lunch, and you won’t eat at 11a.m., like you are used to, doesn’t mean that your diet has failed. Your diet is not a particular hour, place or time. Your diet is a way of life and a source of strength and energy- and this can’t be stuffed in frames!
4.Don’t stay hungry!
Often times we make the mistake to starve, because we are getting ready for “the last supper”. You know how when you stay hungry for a longer period of time, then you eat, eat and you feel like a cup without a bottom- as if everything leaks and you don’t absorb anything.
Instead of this, it is far better to eat something beforehand – the best choice is a combination of proteins and fat. You can eat two eggs, avocado and olives with some veggies. Thus, you will feel satiety and your body won’t starve. When it is time for dinner or lunch, you will be able to eat mindfully, and not driven by your instincts for survival.
5.Don’t forget to drink enough water
It is such a paradox that between 75-90% of the human body is water and we underestimate the benefits of it. We make the effort to eat in a certain way and get enough vitamins and minerals and we do not get the most important – water.
I won’t dig deeper into science and I won’t explain how every process in the body is dependent on water and how dehydration could interfere with our body’s normal functioning. I will just tell you that we often mistaken thirst for hunger. Often times we eat more if we haven’t drank enough water. Drink water before you have lunch.
Take a bottle and drink all day long. I told you that what get measured, get accomplished. If you have a measure about how much water you drank, then you will know if it is enough or if you are fooling yourself.
