How to Stay Slim Through the Holidays

As holidays come around, whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year’s, or even Valentine’s day when you know there’s a high chance chocolate will be involved in your day, you may start to feel some slight anxiety with regards to how you’ll make it through with your diet intact.

Holidays do tend to be difficult because food is everywhere so it will seem as though temptation is lurking around every corner.

To add to that, people may be bringing food especially for you as gifts that you’d feel bad turning down.

So how do you get through the holidays with your bodyweight in place? If you know a few key tips, it’s much easier than you may think.

Let’s have a look at what you need to do.

Design a Very Effective Workout Program

The very first thing that you need to be doing to survive the holidays is making sure that you design a very effective workout program.  Since you likely won’t be spending quite as much time as normal at the gym, you want to make sure that every minute you are in the gym counts double time.

Consider transitioning to a full body workout that contains only compound lifts.  By using compound lifts rather than isolated movements, you’ll be sure to target the specific muscle groups you need to in just three to five different exercises.

Then, add in some cardio intervals during your rest periods.  Grab a rope and start skipping or simply perform some jumping jacks on the spot.

This way you can get your cardio training in while you do your weight lifting, reducing the need to do two separate sessions.

Pre-Plan Which Meals You’ll Indulge In

The next must-do if you want to survive the holidays is to take the time to pre-plan which meals you will indulge in.

Will you treat yourself to the office work party? Or perhaps you’d like to save yourself to indulge when you and your significant other cook a fancy dinner together.

As long as you plan for the indulgence and stick to your diet the rest of the time, you shouldn’t have a problem meeting your weight maintenance goals.  It’s when no plan is in place that you’ll start to falter as you’ll either restrict yourself entirely and then binge because of these highly restricted feelings or you’ll start to indulge a little too much and show no self-control.

Planning sets you up for success.

Get More Active Everyday

Finally, the last thing to consider to help prevent holiday weight gain is to make sure that you get active as much as possible.  Take walks as frequently as you can throughout the day and join your friends for window shopping rather than coffee.

Everything will add up and then if you do happen to take in more calories than you should that day, it shouldn’t pose as much of a threat to your bodyweight.

So keep these points in mind as you head through the holidays.  As long as you are well-prepared and taking steps to ensure some activity is carried out, you shouldn’t suffer the weight gain most people do at this time of year.

Committed to your fit ‘n fabulous lifestyle,

Kirk Huggins Rogers

PS - Only a few days left for the buy one year up front get 3 months on the house special :)