The line between indulging and OVER indulging.

Do you suffer with Christmas food anxiety? For many, Christmas has become a stress fueled, belly busting, argumentative period, leaving bodies destroyed, energy levels on the floor and a whole list of unhelpful habits we spend 1/2 of next year trying to overcome.

This isn’t the essence of Christmas! Time off over Christmas should be spent with loved ones, showing compassion to others and being grateful for gifts (if you’re lucky enough to have Santa pay you a visit.) Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely a time to indulge but wouldn’t you enjoy it more if you could find the line between indulging and physically doing your body harm by overindulging? Read on to discover my top 5 tips for a truly festive Christmas;

 

Tip #1 - Conscious Eating.

If we eat whilst we are distracted like; watching telly, driving or making small talk, not only are we less able to absorb the nutrients in the food but psychologists have show we are also less likely to feel which leads to overeating. Conscious eating is the simple act of recognising what you’re putting in your mouth, how it smells, tastes, feels etc. Doing this will enhance your senses, meaning not only will you enjoy the food more but you’ll also begin tuning into your body’s internal ‘full gauge’ - then it’s up to you to act accordingly.

Implement it: Why not use the holidays to re-train your ‘stop eating’ triggers? You’ll never need to count a calorie again if you can train yourself to stop eating when you feel satisfied rather than seeing an empty plate. Enjoy the treats, just don’t unbutton to fit more than you need in!

 

Tip #2 - Workout BEFORE the Gut Busting Dinner.

The guilt of over consuming can be a powerful motivator, but unfortunately our bodies don’t work the same way, in fact, when you complete your workout will play a crucial role in your holiday weight. High intensity exercise before a big family feast depletes muscle glycogen stores (stored fuel in your muscles) as well as creating an oxygen debt which increases metabolism. The combination of these two factors (combined hopefully with tip #1) will not only mean you’ll have increased energy but you’ll be preventing your body from storing fat because the Christmas dinner will be replenishing your muscles instead of getting stored.

Implement it: The beauty of high intensity training is it only needs to be short, follow this link to try one of our home workouts.

 

Tip #3 - Routines

If you feel run down over Christmas now is the perfect opportunity to start cultivating some energy. I prefer morning routines to evening ones because it means I don’t give myself the opportunity to make excuses later in the day. An effective morning routine is ultimately a sequence of actions you complete EVERYDAY (including weekends and Christmas day.) It’s a pro-active way of living that almost all successful people swear by, because it strengthens your helpful habits and focuses you on your goals. It can be as quick and simple as drinking water as soon as you wake up, let’s face it that in itself will take the edge off the fizz!

Implement it: Start steady with 2-3 actions because the secret to any routines success is consistency. Here’s some ideas to get you started; set an alarm, get straight up, make the bed, hydrate with water, deep breathing/ meditate (if you’re new to meditation, try headspace), exercise/ stretch, daily writing (I write three things I’m grateful for, what my current goal is, one intention for that day and what progress I made yesterday) reading or make your own actions based on your goals.

 

Tip #4 - Side Step Cravings

Cravings originate from nutrient deficiencies. Although we think we are craving chocolate cake, in reality our bodies are probably dangerously low on a certain micro-nutrient like magnesium, so our brain links the last place we got a tiny magnesium hit (last nights chocolate cake) to where we can get more. Unfortunately this will never solve the deficiency and processed foods often deplete our micro-nutrients further creating a viscous cycle and dangerous sugar addiction capable of trashing a whole years worth of personal progress!

Implement it: High nutrient breakfasts are the best protection against this destructive cycle, we are not in control of many meals over the Christmas break but we can optimise our breakfasts. Try out some of our smoothies and snacks, breakfast recipes and if you feel peckish try snacking on natural nuts plus keep hydrated by drinking water between wines!

 

Tip #5 - Make Movement a Family Tradition

It might surprise you to know that it’s not the lack of exercise over Christmas that makes you feel lethargic, it’s the lack of movement. Think of a pond, when the water doesn’t move it doesn’t take long for stagnation and mold to appear - our bodies are no different, simple acts of movement like standing, walking and stretching help to energise cells and assist the body’s detoxification. As a bare minimum you want to break up sitting at least once every hour but why not make a new Christmas day tradition of going for a long walk after your gut busting dinner?

Implement it: Get up at least once an hour. Movement/ fitness trackers are great Christmas gifts and have really come down in price, there a great way to build your awareness on how active you actually are, most even have idle alarms that vibrate if you’ve been sitting for too long!

As ever the key to change is focusing on progress rather than perfection,

Have a fantastic Christmas and I’ll be back in the New Year with our new ‘BE MORE’ course, making sustainable weight loss transformations affordable for everyone, find out more at http://www.bbsf.org.uk/bemorebootcamps/