Accept that you will gain a little! - If you go into the holidays hoping not to put one pound on, then you may want to rethink that strategy. Accept that you will gain some weight, whether it's 1 pound or 10. You will be eating and drinking more than normal, which will naturally add on my weight. By accepting this, you will be more relaxed about it.
Try and get enough sleep! - With the partying, the drinking, the binge eating, the chocolate and so on, your body will need time in order to process all that junk and clear it out of your system - that's when sleep counts! If you're going to bed in the early hours of the morning, then (if you can) have a lay in - give your body time to recover.
Try and be organised! - By having things planned out, you can then sort out what you're eating and when. For example, knowing that you're going to have a night out on a Friday night, you can then ensure you get good calories in during the day, so not only have you eaten well, you will have food in your system prior to drinking booze. When you don't know what you're doing, you can very easily just eat whatever is around - usually the junk!
Don't start too soon! - Just because its Xmas, that doesn't mean you have to eat junk food and drink booze early in the day. Try and eat good, healthy food and drink plenty of water leading up to when you go out.
Watch what you drink! - Alcohol is high in calories, but some are higher than others. A typical lager is probably 'average calories', whereas if you have a cocktail, the amount of calories can very easily shoot through the roof. Mixing different spirits with different mixers, it may taste very nice indeed, but that will lead to a very high calorie drink! So try to not have too many of those kinds of drinks. If you like spirits 'neat', then that's probably a better option as it will be lower in calories than a cocktail, and still packs a kick!
Avoid sports drinks as a hangover cure! - Many people do this, but it's not the best thing to do. Most sports drinks contain a LOT of sugar, which is not good to recover from a night out. Instead, try supplementing with some bcaa's (powder or tablets, prior to going to bed and then when you wake up), foods like banana's (which are high in potassium), green tea, water, and some electrolytes on their own or a pinch of salt.
'Gun-it' in the gym! - Try and get a few high intensity workouts in during the Xmas holidays. By getting a few tough workouts in, it can help sweat out the toxins as well as burning some of those unwanted calories! You will feel a bit better within yourself for doing it, and your body will thank you too!
I hope you all have a great Xmas! Enjoy yourselves, but don't go crazy if you're concerned about your figure!
Lee Gregory Fitness
