Christmas Holiday Dieting

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Anthony



Here are some Christmas Dieting Tips to ensure you enjoy your holiday without having to worry about the holiday bulge:

1. Enjoy yourself, but the next day get back on track with your nutrition. It’s all psychological. You’ve got to put boundaries in your head. You can’t do leftovers. You can’t say, 'It’s been four days and I’m still eating it' if you want to not add pounds. Add more cardio than usual to your workout so you burn more calories. When you’re weight lifting, after you do three sets of an exercise, before you move on to the next one, add 30 seconds to a minute of jumping jacks or mountain climbers.

2. During this Christmas time people often start to starve themselves to prepare for the big meal, which is actually the worst thing you can do. Make sure to eat five small meals a day. Two can be a protein shake. Leave a few hard-boiled eggs on your kitchen counter to snack on. You want to keep the engine going. You don’t want your metabolism to slow down so you store calories. Also, you’re not going to be as smart about your choices when you’re ravenously hungry. Staying optimally fueled through out the day is key. If you overindulge, make sure you hydrate the next day and hit the gym regardless of how you feel.

3. Put post-its on your bathroom mirror or on your front door or on the mirror on the visor in the car, that say, 'If you’re not hungry don’t eat' and 'respect your temple.' It’s a constant reminder to breathe and make a conscious decision about what you put in your mouth. So many of these things happen without even thinking. Also, so often you think you’re hungry but you’re not—you’re just thirsty. It’s incredibly important to hydrate.

4. Give yourself one meal a week. Christmas dinner is only one meal, not a three day long event. For that one meal, say, 'I’m going to have some candied yams and pumpkin pie and potatoes.' That’s it. Doesn’t mean you eat badly for the whole day. Before you eat something think, 'If it’s not worth it, don’t waste it.' If someone says, 'You have to try this cake it’s awesome!' Ok, maybe it’s worth the calories. But picking at a bowl of pretzels—that’s not worth the work you’ll have to do to take it off.

5. Get a training partner for these six weeks who will help motivate you to get up and out of bed. And get it done early. Set your alarm for an hour earlier—or even 30 minutes. You’ll make better choices for the rest of the day. And at night, you’ll be less likely to stay out too late because you’ll have to get up early. Mindset is also incredibly important. You have to mentally set the table. You will not gain weight. You’ve got to know it to make better choices. Draw a line in the sand.

6. Think preventatively. Instead of chowing down and then trying to go to the gym to work it off, go to the gym before you eat so you’ve already raised your metabolism. If you exercise for an hour it’s not just about that hour, you’re still burning more calories throughout the day. If you can get to the point where you're doing a really vigorous hour of exercise in the morning during the holidays, your reward is that you just get to eat what you want, in moderation, and not feel guilty.

7. Never arrive to the Christmas holiday meal famished. Nobody can make good choices when they are starved. Have a small protein-rich snack before you go, such as a protein shake and some almonds. During the meal, pick one or two of your favorite splurge items and enjoy them in moderation. Fill up the rest of your plate with lean protein and veggies. Skip liquid calories. Liquids don't fill us up the way solid foods do so the calories add up, but don't offer satiety. Stick to water. http://sbi0.sitesell.com/cgi-bin/Solo Build It/graphicsLib.pl?NAME_1=ButtomBanner1.jpg&AFF_CODE=225717&DOMAIN=vipfitnessms.com&THEBUTTON=BUTTON_CLICK&SHOW_1=Show%2BMe&COUNT=1 Return to top of christmas page