I know it’s the norm to wait until January, eat like hell over Christmas, and then convince yourself that you’ll start up a gym membership and gain the body you want by Spring/Summer, but the truth is it very rarely works that way. We mean well, and in our minds it’s gonna happen, but then there’s Valentine’s, followed by Mother’s Day, followed by Easter, followed by Father’s Day and then Summer…. all the reasons to have treats.
Have you thought of making a start in the Summer/Autumn, achieving some progress by Winter, not wanting to mess it up over Christmas so there’s less mental work required (because it is all in the mind) and then continuing to maintain your achievements in January and pushing it even further? I recently purchased a journal which runs from July to June, (as oppose to January to December, and it’s given me a little mental shift.
There’s nothing better than heading into a holiday and feeling your very best. Big results don’t happen overnight, but these tips and tricks will help you feel lighter, healthier, and even more confident before the holiday season! Here are FIVE tips to get yourself in shape and feeling FABULOUS before the holidays even start!
1. Eat Before Heading Out
When you get too hungry, you start to crave more food, eat too fast, and ultimately make the wrong food choices and eat too much of them. So before you go to a party or event, eat something. Chances are you’ll get there and the food won’t be served for a few hours anyway. So you’ll be there socializing and standing around, maybe having a glass of wine (which makes you even more hungry), and then by the time the food comes out, you won’t be able to control yourself. So grab a light meal or snack before you walk out the door. The best option is some lean protein, a healthy fat, or some vegetables.
2. Drink Water
Most people already know that drinking water in Summer’s heat is important, but getting yourself to drink enough water when the weather cools off is a different story. Staying hydrated through the cooler months can suppress your appetite, keep your skin looking gorgeous, and even boost your metabolism.
Drinking water can:
Increases Brain Power and Provides Energy.
Promotes Healthy Weight Management and Weight Loss.
The number one way to feel better in a short period of time? Clean up your diet. Get started by replacing processed grub with natural, minimally processed ingredients. When in doubt, opt for natural whole foods with ingredients you can pronounce!
Treating yourself is absolutely necessary for sustainable success — especially over the holidays — but cleaning up your diet for the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving for my US readers, and Christmas for my US and UK readers, will help you feel your best and indulge freely once the big day rolls around.
Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast! Even though it can be tempting to skip on certain meals, believing that it will make up for the treats you consumed in the previous day, don’t do it because it will only lead to counterproductive results.
4. Drink With Moderation
Research shows that both men and women who drink in moderation are less likely than non-drinkers to be obese. On the other hand, more than moderate drinking is linked to a greater risk of being overweight or obese. So what exactly is moderation? For a woman, it’s no more than one standard drink a day, or two for a man. One standard drink is either a 1.5 oz shot of 80 proof distilled spirits, 5 oz of wine (a little less than a yogurt container) or a 12 oz beer (a bottle or can). Each contains about the same amount of alcohol, and will therefore raise your blood alcohol concentration fairly equally. And nope, they don’t roll over, so abstaining during the week and downing 7-14 drinks over the weekend doesn’t count as moderate drinking.
5. Be Active
You should still perform your fitness routine whenever possible and if you can’t do that, simply walk more, park your car some distance away from the store or just use the stairs!
I find brisk walking much more fun than heading to a proper gym, 6.30am is a great time as well; the morning air is clean and fresh, it’s quiet and with the headphones in I don’t realise how long I’ve been walking. Sometimes I even end up jogging home! Once I do get back home it’s sit ups, crunches and leg raises.
Starting the day off with 30 – 45 minutes of exercise also re-positions my mind, the result being that I flow more positively in the mental arena. It’s also great because it makes me more conscious of the food I eat having started the day off fat burning.
So let’s start early this year! Let’s get fit, fierce and FABULOUS before all the parties… we can do it together! Let’s talk about it and share our progress with each other on Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram.
