5-step checklist to stay on track these holidays

Holidays can be notoriously food-centric. You’ve been looking forward to catching up with family, friends and yes, even looking forward to having some special holiday treats you wouldn’t normally indulge in.

But if you find yourself gaining weight or sliding back on your body composition goals, then perhaps it’s time to go into the holidays armed with strategies to help you stay on track. There are a myriad of ways you could this, but the idea is to favour simplicity so that you’ll actually make it happen!

Here’s my 5-step approach…

1. Eat a High Protein Breakfast in the holidays

This should be a given.

Your diet doesn’t have to go ‘on holidays’. So make sure protein is a staple at breakfast.

In fact, studies indicate that consuming protein can help you manage your food intake throughout the rest of the day, so you are less likely to binge on something unhealthy.

2. Eat Healthier Foods First

We all know this but how many of us do this during the holidays?

Chances are that most of the food options for many families will include high amounts of calories and carbohydrates.

You’ll need to recognise that these food options are not optimal for maintaining a lean physique, although that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them.

In this case, I recommend attempting to fill up on ingredients such as vegetables and protein BEFORE moving on to foods such as carbohydrate and dessert.

By first consuming vegetables and protein, you’ll not only get beneficial nutrients but the fibre and protein will also fill your stomach, reducing appetite and ensuring that you’re consuming lower amounts of the high calorie options.

3. Try Intermittent Fasting (IF)

When practicing IF you spend a significant amount of time, ranging from 12-18 hours, when you fast or avoid eating food. Once you do begin to eat, however, the time frame you have left available to eat is therefore quite short.

Although you are more likely to have larger meals after fasting, it’s also extremely likely that you won’t be able to eat enough in the shorter time period to make up for the calories burned during the fasting period. For example you could fast in the morning / afternoon of a big dinner and save your eating period for the big dinner.

4. Don’t Stop Exercising

Whilst holidays are a time to relax, it’s not the time to avoid exercise. On the contrary, the holidays are perfect for getting to the gym or working out outdoors.

By continuing to exercise, you’ll be be making your muscles more receptive to the increased food intake – especially carbohydrates. When your muscles contract, sugar receptors in muscle cells readily gobble up the excess to help replenish and build muscle. But if you’re not working out this entire metabolic process doesn’t fire up sufficiently  – no after-burn effect.

Consider using high intensity full body workouts during the holidays like the Summer Series I recorded on my Facebook page here. (scroll down to the Summer Series Playlist). 15 minutes a day is all it takes. Of course feel free to double up for a full 30-minute HIIT workout. It’s almost like being in the studio!

5. Track Your Food Intake aka Keep a Food Journal

This is truly one of the most effective ways to stay on top of what you are eating.

Eating around the holidays can include a lot of “grazing.” At holiday parties, most have side dishes available as appetisers that many of us “graze” on. After a couple hours, you have mindlessly consumed more food than you would normally have in a single day.

By having a food journal, such as an notebook or an app, you can document each time you eat – this becomes a visual representation of just how much you’re consuming. And more importantly WHY you are eating. More awareness will lead to better self-control. You might be surprised to find out how much nutritionally-EMPTY calories you’re consuming at a single “grazing”.

All our Personal Training clients have access to our Food Journal template with regular check-ins to ensure that their nutrition plan fits with their body composition goals!

I’m a foodie after all and love my food. So you shouldn’t be surprised to know that I don’t restrict myself. But I do have little habits such as these that help me maintain my body composition. And now you can do the same too!

Have a fabulous holiday!

M x

New Year. New Habits! Get back on track fast in the New Year with Perfect Fit’s 21-Day Reset Program.