December contains, in its 31 days, a hodgepodge of different holidays. From lighting the menorah to Yuletide cheer, we all have our own beliefs and traditions that laden this snow covered month. However, some traditions seems to permeate all mores and beliefs; Christmas cookies, eggnog, and big family dinners. It is exceptionally easy to let yourself gain several pounds over the course of the holiday season. This blog post will give you the tools necessary to stave off unsightly body fat for the holidays.
- Stay Active – Too often I see people believe they are too busy to stay active over the course of December. This is the worst thing you can do. You’re making it harder to come back, getting out of the habit of consistently working out, and losing some of the progress you have to constantly pay homage to to maintain. Even if you have to wake up early to go for a brisk walk, you should. Don’t couple the inevitable overeating with under activity. Do what you can to stay active for a few hours per week.
2. Plan ahead – If you know you’re going to have a big family dinner and some Christmas cookies, try to plan for it. If I know I’m going to overeat, I’ll under eat at some point during that day or the next to make up for it. The main driver of weight manipulation is calories consumed against calories burned. If you know you’re going to eat 1000 extra calories atone meal, try to eat 500 less calories the meal preceding and following your big meal. This should be used sparingly but it is a viable option for avoiding the accumulation of body fat.
3. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water –This ties into point 2. If you make a mistake here or there, just accept it, try to make up for it, and move one. What I see a lot of people do is when they eat one bad meal, they feel like they’ve ruined the day and might as well continue to eat contrary to their goals. This is the fastest way to gaining body fat. You wouldn’t throw money at a losing hand of poker, so why would you use that logic with your health.
While I cant guarantee that this will stave off all body
fat, the above methods will help you maintain your waistline over the holiday season.
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