Its officially holiday season! This year has been such a whirl that I cant believe the holidays are already here but I’m here to talk FITNESS. Most of the American population gain 5-15 pounds of body fat in the last three of months of the year without a fitness plan. Did you know that?
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve are the major obstacles that will be in front of your fitness goals. Creating a fitness plan and staying motivated to follow through with it will define your success. Without it, it’s another “NEW YEAR, NEW ME.” Stop this vicious cycle and make moves now. If you create and start a fitness plan that plows through the holidays, you’ll be so far ahead of the pack and start 2021 on the best foot!
Now let’s talk about these obstacles and what to notice, avoid and do instead to succeed.
Halloween - one word: SUGAR. Halloween starts the holidays with an overwhelming amount of chocolate and candy. Even if we don’t eat these foods, you have the potential to eat a few because its in your nearby environment. The bags of candy are also an absurd amount that can last up to three months; which sometimes it does. They’re also usually small in size that it justifies the fact you’re eating them. Have you ever said “Its just a small one.”? Thats when you try to justify your unconscious eating habits. A little bit over time can cause weight gain and strengthen a sugar addiction.
How to Avoid This Obstacle: Hard truth warning. Throw the bag out after Halloween. Get it out of the house because if it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. Just by removing it out of your five foot radius, you won’t engage with the habit. This also goes for your workspace, car and anywhere else you may spend your time. You have saved your self for about 50% of the holidays by doing this. Don’t repeat this vicious cycle, you CAN DO IT!
What Action to Take: Workout and Eat Green Foods. Working out will keep your positive momentum always rolling. Even if you had a bad day, one awesome workout can turn it right around. You’ll always think positive thoughts and be more aware of what is going in your body. When you eat nutritious foods, like green leaves and vegetables, your body becomes satisfied down to the cellular level. When every cell is satisfied, you don’t crave unhealthy foods like chocolate or candy. Never remove a habit without replacing it with something positive.
Thanksgiving - One word: LEFTOVERS….because THERES SO MUCH FOOD AND ALCOHOL! This holiday is my favorite one and Im sure it is also for us foodies out there but let’s be real; this smorgasbord will be our diet for the following two weeks. This holiday has a lot of homemade foods which make it really hard to pass on. I love experiencing someone’s heart-felt recipes hence why’s it just so damn hard to resist. Adding alcohol to this mix creates a dehydrating effect and promotes laziness. Resisting temptation is the hardest part of Thanksgiving.
How to Avoid This Obstacle: On Thanksgiving Dinner, start your first plate with the greens and protein. At least the body can receive the healthy foods first. Then your second plate should consist of all the carbs like breads, rices, pastas and potatoes. The third plate should be desserts and any plates that follow are free for all. This strategy is about starting the marathon on a healthy foot and making decisions by how you feel after that first plate. Now let’s talk about leftovers.
What Action to Take: Workout even more and use the leftovers as a POST-WORKOUT MEAL. Eating carby and sugary leftovers for every meal will make you gain body fat IF you don’t workout. When you workout more often and harder, you can eat the leftovers after your workout and at least those nutrients will be put to use by replenishing your energy sources and recovering your muscles. Carbs are energy and when your body notices a high intake without a reason to be burned, it gets stored away and overtime turns to fat. EARN your leftovers!
Christmas Eve and Christmas - One word: STRESS. Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and any other similar holiday need preparation. On top of preparing for the holiday, holiday party invites are coming left and right which usually have massive amounts of food and alcohol - again. When we feel pressed for time, energy and effort; we get STRESSED! The theme for December is staying calm under the pressure and managing stress positively.
How to Avoid: PLAN and BE OK WITH SAYING NO. Plan your workouts, what presents to give to who, which parties to go to and which not. Save your energy, time and effort by planning ahead and protect it by holding your self accountable to that. When we try to do it “on the fly”, that is when we become stress and THINK you don’t have time and energy to do what you wish you were doing. Negative stress can’t exist if your following a plan. The stress you’ll experience is the positive kind that comes from the thrill of riding the crazy rollercoaster of the holidays. PLAN IT OUT and foresee everything that you will come across.
What Action to Take: PRIORITIZE your physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Workouts, meditate and take the time to realize WHAT you are celebrating and who you’re celebrating it with. Working out creates a positive outlet to relieve stress so you give a way for stress to leave the body. Meditate and take 5-10 minutes to just sit and breathe without thoughts. Mediating is like a “brain'-dump” where you can erase whats in your mind and access the quiet thats already there. Stress relates to how much thoughts you experience and what kind they are. Dump it out and erase the mother board.
Lastly, spend the time with people you want and should spend it with. This holiday is about strengthening your Relationships with friends, family and God. As a Filipino-American Catholic, Christmas reminds me of the day our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was born and came down from Heaven to spread the truth that God knows our name and loves us all the same. This relationship keeps my sprit strong and reminds me why I’m writing this to you today.
New Years Eve - One word: ALCOHOL. This late night of alcohol drinking and food eating is just another reason to engage in a repeated, annual habit cycle. Alcohol is extremely dehydrating and promotes laziness because it beats your body up. You don’t really feel like moving much after this holiday hence why a NEW YEARS RESOLUTION is the only thing that will motivate us to making the right decisions. This usually does’nt last long because there is no ling term plan.
How to Avoid: Drink half-full bodyweight in water to counterbalance the dehydration effects of alcohol and salty foods. This is honestly the one thing that prevents hangovers and excessive bloating. Stay within these hydrated levels before, during and after to ensure you’ll make it out on the other side on standing tall.
What Action to Take: WORKOUT ON DAY 1. Start the New Year right with positive energy, thoughts and moods. Set the bar high for your year and do something that shows self-respect. Congratulations, you just made it to 2021 as a different person. Now KEEP GOING!
I hope this blog post will help you throughout the holidays and please SHARE and LIKE to anyone that needs to read this. If you need help creating a fitness plan, I started the 5th Annual Holiday Challenge in my own gym at Cedar Grove, NJ called Empyrea Group Training where I can create the fitness plan and workouts that will transform your body through the holidays and make you come out on top come 2021.
Thank your for reading this and see you in my next post!
- Carl Anthony Grande
