Holidays: Balancing your fat loss goal with fun and treats
Here we are in the midst of the holiday season: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day. Endless parties and family gatherings, typically centered around tons of food – and I’m not referring to broccoli and spinach! There are so many temptations that could potentially sabotage your goals, especially if fat loss is one of them. On the other hand, you don’t want to feel left out or deprived of enjoying treats. How do you find a good balance? With planning and prioritizing, you can lose weight during the holidays!
Know your priorities
People have told me countless times, “I ate clean all day and was doing so good, until….” Fill in the blank. Your neighbor brought over homemade cookies. Your co-worker brought cake to work. Your husband surprised you with your favorite cream-filled chocolates. You went to a holiday dinner. Sigh. It’s an uphill battle for sure! But don’t fall into the trap of making excuses. Your body doesn’t care.
You can DEFINITELY enjoy some of these treats and still lose weight during the holidays. You just have to prioritize what’s really worth it, what’s not and saying ‘no’, staying 100% with your workout regimen, and eating clean the majority of the time. This will require planning on your part. If you know you have a holiday party this weekend and you want treats and cocktails, you must be reasonable the rest of the week prior to! Don’t skip your workouts, get enough sleep, and plan your meals. This may require you to decline a lunch invitation at a restaurant, etc. Instead, suggest a home meal, and you’ll cook : ) You are in control!
Tips to lose weight during the holidays
- Don’t “save up” for an upcoming event (dinner, dessert, etc) by dramatically cutting calories or starving yourself prior to. This is a HUGE mistake. You will slow your metabolism by starving yourself and will also set yourself up for binge eating.
- Don’t give yourself a guilt trip for enjoying treats in moderation. It really won’t throw you off your goal, just stay on track the majority of the time.
- Know when to say NO. You don’t really need to eat those store-bought mediocre doughnuts, do you? Decide what’s worth it, and pass on the rest.
- Find new recipes for healthy treats, make them, and share with others. “Treats” don’t have to be an epic disaster to your clean eating standards.
- Plan ahead. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Planning meals ahead of time will prevent unnecessary “mistakes”. Also plan your workouts, and stick to it.
- Get a top quality personal trainer. They will really help motivate you.
- Don’t make excuses for your bad choices. “I don’t have time to workout this week.” “I was too busy to cook a healthy meal.” “I’ll start exercising after the holidays.” That’s BS.
The key is to realize that you are in control.
Have a safe and healthy holiday season!