It's Chriiiiisssstttmaaaassssssss!!!
The most exciting time of year full of family,food friends and festive cheer. (in my opinion)
However, the downside to all of this fun is less focus on your own health and fitness goals. The clean eating & training programme seems to go out the window for a good few weeks. Not that it isn't good to take a break once in a while, but we can aim for damage limitation to reduce the New year diet & training stress.
Most of you know that our goals are reached with 60% focus on diet, 20% on training and another 20% on rest and recuperation, so when we slack in all of these areas we really are shocking our bodies with limited sleep, increased stress, surplus calories and less physical activity. Just one of these factors can make a huge shift in your goals, let alone losing focus on them all. Here's a few tips so you don't pile on the pounds and still have some guilt free Christmas pud.
MODERATION - leading up to christmas we are surrounded by chocolates, mince pies, office parties and a lot of Alcohol! Simply limit yourself to 20% of your daily calories as a treat so you don't miss out. If you are unsure of your daily calorie demands throw me a message and I can work it out for you. (jemma@bodyperfect-online.com)
CALORIE MAINTENANCE - Now nobody expects you to count calories on Christmas day, thats just ridiculous. We should all be indulging in the finest of our favourite foods and sharing quality time with loved ones. However, don't let this trick your body into wanting to overindulge more than that one day period. As above, allow yourself treats all around the festive period. Just save the best until christmas day! a bit like a cheat day I usually advise my clients after any intense diet periods. it actually does the body and mind the world of good. Aside from that aim to consume roughly your usual daily calorie goal to reduce any serious excess fat gain!
GET BACK ON TRACK ASAP - Habits take 28days to form and realistically the festive period is roughly a similar length of time, so don't allow your body and mind to get into bad habits. At any opportunity get yourself back onto plan, usual diet, training sessions and catch up on sleep! The more you aim to keep certain areas of routine, the easier January will be.
DON'T STRESS - Stress creates the hormone cortisol which actually promotes fat storage, so don't panic about presents and being 'ready' for christmas, you'll be sweating the small stuff. Just enjoy your festive surroundings and a little indulgence, knowing once it is over you can hit the goals full steam ahead again in the new year! and what a year it is going to be...
I am really looking forward to sharing some Clean and Lean travel stories with you, New recipes, tips and ideas from New Zealand where I will be spending my next year. Join my private facebook group if you haven't done so already, It is motivating to share your thoughts, fears, journey and questions with like-minded people on similar journeys. I post here regularly and more often than not others will be asking questions you may have avoided asking yourself. You'll also find info about New Christmas Online Coaching Vouchers available.
If you'd like a free consultation call for some advice on how we may be able to work together before the year is out or more information about the next 6 week challenge just book here >> https://bodyperfectonline.as.me/?appointmentType=1512492
Finally, I would like to wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a happy & Healthy 2018!