Do you want to avoid holiday weight gain? If so, then now is the time to put your foot on the throttle…..
How would you like to wake up January 1st in the same shape you are now, or even better? As opposed to being in worse shape than you are now and having to work it all off and start the year with the usual uphill battle?
Most people start to fall off the diet and exercise wagon right around Thanksgiving. They eat bad at Thanksgiving, then they look at December and the holidays approaching and that little diet and exercise devil says to them, “life is just too crazy the next 6 weeks, so just wait until January to get back to the gym and eating good. You’ll be fine.”
Then you wake up on January 1st, with an uphill battle because you are further away from your goals than you are even today. Which makes it even harder to get results, thus increasing your chances to quit and go even further backwards.
Remember this – December should be the month that you go to the gym the most! Not the least. Think of it like money. Do you quit working on your most expensive months? We all know there will be holiday eating and times you have to miss exercise and eat bad. So, it is even more important that you eat good on the days that you aren’t eating bad and exercise on the days that you don’t have to miss.
So, take the holidays and enjoy them. Eat bad. Travel, go to parties, miss workouts, etc. But take a look at all the days when you don’t have to eat bad and miss your workout and cardio. On those days, be super-dedicated and do everything you are supposed to do. Chances are, if you do this, you will avoid holiday weight gain. You will not only break even during the next 6 weeks, but you will probably GET AHEAD! – And, you’ll be able to enjoy the holidays guilt free!!!
Below are 5 easy tips to help you avoid holiday weight gain. Apply these 5 easy tips to avoid holiday weight gain immediately and you will get ahead and stay ahead during the next several weeks and you won’t have to start the new year behind and with some crazy resolution – you will already be there!
1. Change Your Mindset
Stop thinking that the damage is done and that there is no point to even try during the holiday season. That thinking will only set you back further. Don’t throw in the towel during this time. It will only make it worse in January. Change your mindset from the damage is done thinking to it doesn’t have to be perfect during the holidays thinking. Make the most of the situation. If you follow my diet and exercise teaching and my Calorie Budgeting System, you will see how I budget for good and bad on a regular basis. The holiday season is no different, there is just a little more bad than normal.
2. Work Your Calendar
The holidays can be a very busy season. You have a lot going on, so it is important to schedule things on a calendar. Hopefully you use a calendar to organize and schedule the important things in your life. Your diet and exercise should be important to you and should be included on your calendar.
Look at your calendar on a weekly basis from Thanksgiving to New Years. Each week, mark all the events that you have that would keep you from exercising or that would make you eat bad. Then take all the other days and schedule exercise on them and eat good on those days. It is fairly simple, you just have to hold yourself accountable on those days.
Note: if you are a busy person on a regular basis, take a look at these Health and Fitness Tips for Busy People.
3. Do Your Workouts
It doesn’t matter if you have missed lately or how crazy your schedule is. At Hoover Fitness we have 16 classes per week available. Chances are you can make more classes during the next 6 weeks than you did during the previous 6 weeks! If you can’t make those classes or you are at another gym, you can follow the workouts on our Virtual Personal Trainer. You can even do those at home.
If you don’t workout already, now is a great time to start. Don’t wait until January to start. There will never be a perfect time to start. Check out these Workout Tips for Beginners to help you get started.
4. Do Cardio
Now is the time to start a cardio plan to do in addition to your workouts. With Cardio, you will greatly increase your chances for results. During the holidays, you will be consuming more calories than normal. Cardio will help you burn more calories than just doing your workouts only. Think of it like an extra job. If you are spending more money than normal, then you can get an extra job to pay for the extra expenses. Cardio is like a job and the calories you eat are like your extra expenses. During the holidays, not only do cardio, but do extra cardio to pay for the extra calories.
For cardio, my advice is to work hard for 15-20 minutes. If you are working hard enough, 15 minutes on a regular basis is plenty. Often times people walk or do something easy for 45 minutes or an hour and get nothing really from it. Their mind tells them that they are working hard because they went so long, but the reality is that there is a reason they were able to go so long – it was easy. My best advice that I can give for cardio is that it is not how far you go or how long you go, it’s how hard you work. The holiday season is a busy season and you are limited in the amount of time you have anyways. So make the most of it and work hard during the limited time that you have.
5. Eat good when you are not eating bad
Thanksgiving through the entire holiday season, you are going to eat bad. And that is ok! My goal is not to tell people that they cannot eat bad, it is to show people how they can eat bad and still get results.
It is important that you take advantage of the times that you aren’t eating bad and be sure to eat good during those times. Cut calories during the times you are not eating bad. Think of it like saving money. Save the calories for the bad eating. Don’t waste them on the good eating.
If you want to learn how to easily budget your calories to be able to enjoy foods that you love, check out my eBook, Calorie Budgeting 101.
Final Thoughts
Take a serious look at the next 6 weeks. Make this the year that you avoid holiday weight gain. You can enjoy all the good stuff that comes during this time, and still get results. You don’t have to quit during this time. I promise, you will not regret it. The only chance of regret is by throwing in the towel and waiting until January to do something.
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