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Surfing is hard enough as it is. Don’t make it even more difficult by putting on the all-too common extra pounds this time of year. I know it’s tough. December is one of the most difficult months of the year to stay on track with your health and fitness goals. You’ll have holiday parties. The colder water makes sessions shorter and less frequent. There’s more socializing. Maybe you’re traveling more this time of year. You’ll miss workouts.
Here’s the deal: you don’t have to fall into that trap of gaining weight during the holidays. You can actually end the year strong and buck the holiday weight gain trend. Follow these simple strategies to do just that. And with a little strategy and some daily practices, you can have that holiday cake too, guilt free. Just keep these five things in mind.
1. Mindful Eating
The first part of mindful eating is the simple act of paying more attention. It doesn’t have anything to do with what you are actually eating. You just notice how the food tastes – everything from the taste, to the smell, the sound of each bite, and the texture. Pay attention to it all and then see how you feel. It’s amazing how crappy processed foods actually taste when you pause to let in all the sensations. To the contrary, it’s amazing how incredible whole foods actually taste when you allow time to savor each bite.
Again, this has nothing to do with what you eat. Just pay more attention and eat a little slower. That’s all.
2. Plan Out Your Week
If you know you’re having a big week of holiday parties or a couple big meals out, put them down in your calendar and have a game plan. For example, if you know Tuesday night is a holiday party, and then Friday and Saturday you have dinner plans out, write those three nights down in your calendar.
This will help you focus on nailing Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday meals. Use a simple meal prep guide and prepare a few simple, healthy meals for those days. Getting those days down right, will allow you to enjoy your social engagements guilt free.
3. Be Realistic with Your Goals
Fat loss goals in December probably aren’t the best idea. Realize that your environment in December is not going to be very favorable to weight loss. Holiday parties, office candy, large family meals, and less available time for exercise will make it more challenging to shed weight.
Instead, why not focus on getting great workouts in when you do hit the gym? Build a little bit of muscle with the excess calories you’re already consuming. Better yet, why not discover your active passion and transform the whole conversation about living a healthy, fit, lifestyle?
4. Prioritize Sleep
A few bad nights of sleep will spark unhealthy food cravings for me. My appetite gets thrown out of whack and it become very difficult to maintain my normal healthy habits. It’s been shown that even a few hours less of sleep will disrupt our hormones that control appetite, cravings, and satiety. Lack of sleep affects both levels of leptin and ghrelin, the major players in satiety and appetite. One study even found that a lack of sleep compromises a person’s ability to lose fat.
So the major point with sleep is that, no matter how well you eat, if you’re not sleeping well it will be very difficult to shed fat. Shoot for a minimum of six hours and try to get as much as eight hours when possible.
5, Get Your Walk On
If you ask me, walking might be the most underrated fat loss exercise out there. Keeping activity levels high during the holidays can be just enough to offset some of the damage done in the kitchen. It’s also a great way to disconnect from the digital world and reconnect with family, friends, and nature.
Having this release from the constant commotion can also do wonders for your stress levels. Managing stress has become crucial in our 24/7, on the go, modern lifestyle, and it can directly impact your ability to stay fit. Start small and try for 10-15 minutes of walking after dinner. Easy enough.
There you go. I hope you get to use some or all of these practices over the next few weeks.
Editor’s note: These are just a few of the strategies taught by the author as part of their 30-day Leaner & Stronger program, starting early in 2017. You can learn more here.
