December has been called the most fattening month of the year and for good reason! Massive plates of food, chocolates and gallons of alcohol vanish at this time every year. The last two weeks of the month can blow your year’s hard work, discipline and dedication to pieces.
There is a mindset change as we approach the end of the year that makes us a little giddy. We want to let our hair down and celebrate the year that’s gone, so we give ourselves a little slack.
That’s perfectly OK as long as we don’t act like the well-behaving dog that charms its owner into letting it off the leash. Once we feel that loosening of the reins, the dog bolts and we dive into as many chocolates, cakes and puddings that our bulging stomachs will allow!
It’s like a strange hypnotic fog ascends over most households. Christmas means everyone can eat whatever they want and as much of it as they can.
For a man that is very disciplined and borderline super strict with himself, I am certainly not immune to this! You only have to give me a glimpse of that Cadbury’s Roses tin and I’m in it, smelling the delicious aromas and ripping open the crinkly wrappers. Once one goes in, boy is it hard to stop!
And it’s not like Christmas sneaks up on us either. We know this is coming many months in advance. It never changes its date, season, or gets suddenly postponed for another time.
To tackle something this big requires a plan. Something to help us navigate the tough decisions ahead and allow us arrive to January 1st lean, guilt free and fit, instead of defeated, lethargic and fluffy.
These five Christmas survival tips will get you thinking before you start eating!
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Get a Jump-Start!
Something big is coming that can destroy all your hard work and is a threat to all those tough, sweaty workouts put in throughout the year. Turning your back and pretending it’s not on its way simply won’t cut it. You have to attack!
Tomorrow is the first day of December so make it your business to do a great workout and go on the offence straight away. Live this month on your terms which means putting in the work before all the Christmas mayhem begins!
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Choose Your Level
In my mind you have three choices over Christmas to avoid putting on weight:
- Train a little and only eat and drink a little
- Train as usual and eat and drink as usual
- Train like a madman or woman and eat and drink as much as you’d like
Christmas is a special occasion and, personally, I very much enjoy the eating and drinking associated with a celebration like this. I choose option C!
I certainly don’t want to be battling with any guilt as I reach for another delicious Rose, so this option works best for me. Guilt has a tendency to squash the enjoyment out of what you’re doing. I’d prefer to avoid that which is why I’ll be pushing myself very hard for the next month. Which option will you choose?
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Train First Thing
I know it can be hard to do. Waking up and then jumping around doesn’t immediately sound appealing. However, in a month like December, this one change of routine will give you real results.
Those first few moments are your time. Put your earphones in, pump up the music and go for it (the Properly Built YouTube Channel has all the 12 minute workouts you need for first thing in the morning).
When you’re done, it doesn’t matter who then asks you to go for a drink after work, or what old friend arrives into town. You’ve done your workout which frees you up to enjoy all the festivities that this time of year offers.
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Give Yourself 3 Big Days
With no prior thought or planning, Christmas can quite easily turn into two weeks of socialising, excess drinking, and late night takeaways. Not only is this extremely expensive, when it comes to an end you feel like you’ve regressed dramatically in your health and fitness. This is a horrible place to be so avoid it at all costs.
Pencil in three days over Christmas that you’re going to allow yourself to let loose. This means you can eat and drink whatever you feel like (this is not an excuse to get blind drunk or eat until you vomit. That’s never good for anyone!) These days however, are yours to relax your routine and discipline if you choose. My days this year will be Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. Select yours, look forward to them and go and enjoy yourself.
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Sign Up for Active Fun!
This part of the year can be a wonderful time to help people less fortunate than ourselves, and to work out with hundreds of other people too. Lots of sporting and charity events take place over Christmas, so sign up! Whether it’s the local Fun Run, Turkey Trot, or freezing cold charity swim, these activities make you feel good while also giving you added motivation. The social aspect is great and it gets you out of the house and momentarily away from food, the couch, and Christmas television (a break from these three is a very good idea!).
Don’t just accept that piling on some pounds is the outcome of your holiday season this year. Christmas time acts as a re-calibration of our minds and bodies as we approach a fresh new year. It’s very normal to want to hibernate a little before a busy 2017 kicks off, but remember that being active makes you feel great.
If you are lacking motivation right now, just take action and the motivation will follow. People often think that you need to be motivated to take action. This can be somewhat true but taking action also fires your motivation.
By implementing some, or all of the survival tips above, you’re going to charge through the back door of 2016 and embrace 2017 with an energy and enthusiasm that a brand new start deserves.
I’d love to know what your three big days this Christmas will be! Let me know in the comments below!