Your Cart is Empty
Here are three facts about life:
1. You are going to overeat on Thanksgiving.
2. You are going to overeat on Christmas.
3. You are probably going to drink too much on New Year’s Eve.
AND guess what? That is alright!
Most of the people I know accept the fact that the holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day will be a loss with regards to their fitness goals, but there is no reason to accept an “L” in November and December. In fact, these months should be anything but a loss. Think of this time as a special team’s play in an NFL game; rather than signaling for a fair catch on the ten yard line or taking a knee in the end-zone, this is your opportunity to fight for great starting field position!
Before we get deeper into the strategy here, lets remind ourselves of the most important piece of advice to live by, do not miss out on the good stuff in life! Basically, go ahead, have fun, and indulge on the holidays. Just realize that you are only going to take your eye off the prize on the actual holidays versus the entire five or six weeks from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. Remember, almost everyone who has ever dieted knows that scheduled “cheat days” are part of dieting, so why not just make those “cheat days” the holidays?
Now that your mind-set is falling into the right place, lets get started. The holidays start off with Thanksgiving Day, when you catch yourself eating too much stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and dessert. With a little over a month left until January 1st and New Year’s Resolution season quickly approaching, it is time for a decision be made…
Option 1: Say “forget it” and just keep eating.
Option 2: Take advantage of the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, have a cheat day on Christmas Day, and then have another solid week of dieting and training leading up to New Year’s Day.
The strategy here is to get a running start leading into your New Year’s Resolution. If you truly do indulge on the holidays, you will not even feel like you are sacrificing anything when you begin to diet and train again.
Here are a few ideas and suggestions to put your plan in action. First off, have a strategy and schedule planned for working out and training. With COVID-19 still lingering around, you may even need to do some at-home workouts or jog around your neighborhood for exercise and cardio; and guess what, there is nothing wrong with that! No matter what your exercise and training program looks like, make sure to plan so that you make sure you get the time to complete all of your workouts.
Secondly, put the same strategy you have for your training into your diet and supplementation. The holiday season can be busy so you should prepare some pre-cooked meals to take with you, whether you are heading to work or heading out gift shopping. For example, hardboiled eggs and Greek yogurt are two items that are super convenient, protein-packed foods that you can throw in a lunch-bag or meal-prep bag to take with you wherever you go. Plus, if you are in a bind and are stuck somewhere without food, these healthy snacks can always be found your local supermarket or convenience stores. These foods can be a lifesaver during the busy holiday season. Protein powders are also another excellent and convention way to maintain a clean and healthy diet while on the run, without causing any major inconvenience in your daily life.
Finally, you may be able to enhance your training results with a well-built supplement plan. If you need some extra energy and want to maximize each of your training sessions, you may want to try a pre-workout powder or drink. If you want some help attacking extra stored body fat, you may want to add CLA and/or Carnitine to your daily supplement stack. Finally, you can take amino acids, like branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and/or L-glutamine, to help speed recovery, preserve lean muscle mass, and boost the immune system while following a calorie-restricting diet and nutrition plan.
To wrap it all up, with a little bit of planning, dedication, and motivation, you’ll be able to get a jumpstart on your resolution during the holidays versus having to play catch-up on January 1st. Now you can see that there really is no reason to gain weight over the holidays and then feel down about your physique heading into the new year. While the rest of the world is fighting to get on track in the new year, you’ll be ahead of the game and your ultimate reward will be achieving you target weight, physique, and fitness goals in early 2021!
Written by CEO Chris Mackenzie
