The Holidays are here and it’s the most wonderful time of the year! Do family gatherings, meals, and travel plans have your Holiday spirits down? Does the thought of missing the gym for a few days make you feel stressed?
Let’s talk about some keys to success to approach the Holiday season with confidence:
Key #1
It’s just a few days!
Let’s put some things into perspective for a minute. If you combine all the meals celebrating the holidays you’re looking at a guesstimate of maybe 4 to 6 total meals. That’s a very small percentage of the meals that you consume everyday over the 365 days in a year. You can do that same math with days you’re missing the gym. A few days of rest, relaxation, and enjoying friends and family (and some yummy treats) won’t derail the entire year of work you’ve been putting in!
Key #2
Fuel your body the entire day!
What we DON’T want to do is “save up,” our calories all day. Please don’t skip breakfast and lunch in order to accommodate the extra calories you may be eating for dinner. Throughout the day make sure you are eating and hydrating. Something easy to focus on throughout the day is to make sure you are consuming enough protein. Holiday meals may not have the most nutrient dense options at times so protein is something easy we can put an emphasis on day of. Fueling throughout the day will prevent you from feeling uncomfortably full or overeating because you are starving by dinner time!
Key #3
Move your body if it feels good for you!
Exercise is amazing and makes you feel great. During this holiday season we shouldn’t view working out as a tool to “earn” our food. If we are missing the gym and feel like we need some movement there are many body weight at home workouts we can do. We can also always simply go for a walk. Walking after meals promotes better digestion. All of those things are great BUT if we find ourselves only wanting to workout to burn off the calories we consumed and we feel guilty for skipping workout, training may not be the answer.
Key #4
Eat the Pie!
(Replace the word pie with any of your favorite foods) For me, it is my grandmother’s sweet potato casserole! Allowing yourself to eat what you love in moderation not only makes you happy but leads to less feelings of restrictions and food anxiety. You can eat pie and still be an athlete. Guilt isn’t an ingredient in any food, if you don’t believe me you can check the label!
Keep these keys in your back pocket and approach those Holiday gatherings and travel plans with confidence! Happy Holidays! -Coach Chandler