10 Tips to Survive the Festive Season

Hands up if you get to this time of year and realise you better get serious about your health & fitness goals? Perhaps it’s a matter of setting some New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, or to get into a bikini or shorts for summer? If you’re like me, you need to have rules & tips to follow, in order to keep yourself accountable to your actions. If you know what to do, then you can feel confident enough that you are doing the right thing.

Tip #1: Get Organised

I highly recommend you start at the beginning. Plan out your weekly schedule and diaries to include your exercises. Why change things dramatically if you don’t have to? Allocate the time to your training & exercises as you would any other ‘normal’ week of the year. Block out 30min timeslots in your diary for when you can do the exercises or when you can cook up the healthy meal options. Fail to plan and you plan to fail!!

Tip #2: Create a Vision Board

This can be a mental visual or a tangible collage of positive affirmations/images. Often we begin the holiday season with negative thoughts and allow ourselves the opportunity to fall off the bandwagon. It’s not necessary. Create the positive visual of what you want to achieve and send yourself strong, supportive and positive affirmations. Allow only words such as “I can, I will, I am, I do…..”

Tip #3: Frequency of Meals

Continue to eat your regular 5-6 small meals everyday so you are not tempted to overindulge. Who often removes a few ‘regular’ meals out of their day to allow themselves the opportunity to eat more at the social occasion? If you continue to eat within your parameters of 5-6 small meals, you will be less likely to over consume calories. Never attend a party ravenous. You will only eat MORE than your body needs and regret the outcome later.

Tip #4: Eat a Portion of Protein at Every Meal

Lean protein such as Chicken, Red Meat, Fish, Protein Powders or Eggs is usually what we think about when we talk about protein. But there are also Vegetarian and Vegan Options with Greek Yoghurt & Cottage Cheese, as well as Tofu, Beans, Legumes, lentils and Chia Seeds. But let’s not forget the AMAZING products provided by The Protein Bread Co . This is a great way to consume the ‘Protein Portion’ without having to think traditional meats or vegetarian options.

Tip #5: Slip but don’t Slide

Even if you fall completely off the wagon, don't beat yourself up. Accept that you are allowed to indulge every now & then. Feel rewarded & empowered for all the positive things you have done so far i.e. exercise, drink 3L water daily, sleep/rest. Just get back on track ASAP and accept that it’s Christmas. Don't let one small slip keep you sliding.

Tip #6: How much is enough? Portion Control

The old adage “Hungry Eyes” has become a reality for most of us. As a society who often dine out, we have increased perceived portion sizes. Each meal needs to consist of lean protein & carbs plus salads within adequate portions. A rough rule of thumb is a palm size for protein, fist size for starchy carbs and unlimited fibrous carbs (green veg & salad).

Tip # 7: Just Move

To lose weight, energy OUT needs to be greater than energy IN. So if you have had an excessively large binge, burn it off!! If you are limited in time then the best form of calorie burning training is 30min HIIT, mixing heavy weights with quick bursts of high energy. This is where the 6wk Program from Fit N Trim 4 Life (my Online Training Program) comes in handy. Check it out here: #6wk_NewYou

Tip #8: Allow a Cheat Meal

This is a GUILT FREE meal where you WON’T beat yourself up, if you eat outside of the lean & clean parameters. Christmas Lunch or Dinner is your GUILT FREE MEAL. But the question remains if you are able to keep to that one meal only and not continue the binge the entire day and so forth.

Tip #9: Drink More Water

Water has MANY benefits, including aiding in weight loss, flushing out toxins, hydrating the body, providing greater joint mobility, reducing fluid retention and assisting with digestion. The recommended daily quantity is 400ml of water per 10kg of body weight. So for a 60kg female, that’s approx. 3L of pure water each day. Just be careful not to over-do it. Sip slowly and drink your quota.

Tip #10: New Year Resolution or LifeStyle Solution

I named my business “Fit N Trim 4 Life” for a reason….Because I wanted to educate & empower people, to make health & fitness a lifestyle. Setting a New Year’s resolution will only see you fail, unless you plan to have a lifestyle GOAL! Goal setting during this period is fantastic as it keeps you focused on achieving a result. It will provide you with the motivation to do something positive for yourself. The trick is to turn that motivation into reality. That’s where tip #2 comes in handy – Visualisation and Positive affirmations.

SAMPLE ‘EMERGENCY’ MEAL PLAN:

Meal 1: 1-2 Poached Eggs on Protein Bread Toast + sautéed Spinach & mushrooms. Piece of fruit. Meal 2: 100g low fat cottage cheese (or Natural Yoghurt), 2-3 Rice Cakes. Capsicum, Cucumber & Carrot sticks. Plus ½ Cup Berries Meal 3: Lean Protein (Turkey, chicken, fish) with mixed leafy green salad AND 1x Starchy Carbs (sweet potato, brown rice) Meal 4: Low Carb Protein Shake with Almond Milk. Small handful almonds. Meal 5: Seafood Stir fry with mixed colourful veggies (use low sodium soy sauce) or Grill Fish on BBQ & serve up with steamed veggies & salad.