Start slowly
Every journey begins with a single step. Setting realistic goals is the key to enjoying success.
Breathe!
Bean HIIT sessions work major muscle groups that will in turn allow you to burn a lot of calories. But these muscle groups need help to maintain performance, so get those breaths in!
Hydration, Hydration, Hydration
The better hydrated you are, the better your performance and ability to burn fat.
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Ok, hands up who wants to enjoy the festive period and not experience one ounce of guilt at the obscene gluttony on display?
Lets see how we can make this a reality, shall we?
It is approximately 4 weeks until the big guy comes calling, father Christmas that is! So the trend tends to be in the build up to Christmas to kind of be a little looser with our nutrition and not so motivated with our exercise and movement.
The build up to Christmas is littered with temptation, whether it be by works drinks parties, festive foods in the office or the limited edition sugar laden coffees on offer.
This likely increase in consumption, coupled with the decrease in energy expenditure is likely to cause an increase in weight in the weeks leading up to Christmas, and then BANG, the effect is amplified in those few days, leaving you in a tough position to start that ‘new year, new you!’ mindset which is often tough to stick to.
So, why can’t we adopt a mindset change whereby you think about the big day and the surrounding period as a target, a target that you have to get to? Between now and then you are going to be super focused and INCREASE your training and movement, whilst at the same time being more mindful about both the quality and volume of food and drink that you are taking on board.
We are not saying that you don’t enjoy yourself, the whole idea behind the strategy is to increase your enjoyment over Christmas as a reward for the hard work you have put in. A couple of bad days is not going to impact your weight too dramatically, it is the consistent pattern of overeating and under expending over the course of weeks in the build up that leads to you becoming unhappy with where you are post Christmas.
So lets build some credit in the bank over the build up that we can spend during the main days, which will not leave us feeling dreadful, heavy, bloated and generally left with thoughts that crazy, unrealistic diets are required to kick the year off.
Top tips
- Increase your training days by 1 x week rather than dropping any sessions.
- Make sure your NEAT is high, i.e your overall movement in a day. 10,000 steps per day is always a great target to achieve.
- Be super vigilant about the amount you are consuming on a daily basis. If you know you have a social occasion in the evening, then you limit your consumption at the beginning of the day to account for it, or train pre/post event so the impact is not as bad.
- The period generally lends itself to more sugar laden treats to be on offer. Mince pies, boxes of celebrations at work or festive flavoured coffees. Try and confine these treats to Christmas day & boxing day, and instead focus on nutrient dense, colourful sources of food for the weeks prior.
Some of you will be saying ‘lighten up, its Christmas!’, but remember, we are not saying not to enjoy yourself, but instead be conscious of your actions and be motivated to hit your training with the same, if not greater, intensity.
Get to it people!!
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