Beat The Holiday Bulge Before It Beats You

Monday, 14 November 2011 20:23

The first barrage comes by way of the cavity-inducing candy-fest known as Halloween. Not to be outdone, Thanksgiving hurtles through, leaving you in a turkey- and stuffing-induced stupor.

Then, a fat man in a red suit assaults your waistline with 12 days of holiday office parties And just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, New Years Eve gives a new meaning to “body shot.” It’s The Holidays, and they’re coming for you. This year, go on the offensive. Here are 5 STEPS to tackling the holidays before they tackle you.

By Tony Federico

Set a Goal

NBA great Larry Bird once said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take,” but you could also say that you also miss the shots you don’t aim for. Having a measurable goal gives you a target and a way to track you success, so start your preemptive fitness plan with a goal. Your goal might be maintaining your current weight through January 1, or exercising 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week.

Train Your Brain

Your brain’s natural tendency is to resist change, and if left to its own devices, it will do everything it can to derail your efforts. A great way to train your brain is to listen to motivating podcasts, read books on exercise or nutrition and read blogs and websites that will keep your brain occupied with thinking about how you can rather than how you can’t.

Enlist Reinforcements

Studies have shown that your friends’ weight gain can become your weight gain. Be selfish and get your friends to join a preemptive fitness plan with you. It’s great for those celebratory instances when you need to be talked out of going for seconds on the sugar cookies. Do your friends think that walking to the bar counts as a workout? Facebook and Meetup.com have hundreds of groups of like-minded folks.

Plan for Contingencies

Even the most perfectly designed program is bound to falter when reality rears its ugly head. In the words of Winston Churchill, “He who fails to plan is planning to fail.” Or, stuff happens, so prepare a fallback plan. If you know that a particular holiday meal is going to be epic, designate that single meal as an exception and schedule an extra workout or dietary “recovery” day.

Start Now

Did I say “start now?” Start now! Get out a piece of paper, write out your goal, download some podcasts from iTunes, call a friend (or join a group) and prepare for the inevitable. The whole idea of preemptive fitness is that you can do today what you would normally put off until next year, and in the process, you can feel a whole lot better. In conclusion, start now!

Need a mnemonic? Just think about the five “STEPS” to preemptive fitness.

***

FIT TIP : Eat Sweets, Build Muscle, Burn Fat?

We've all heard that carbs are bad for you, but that's not necessarily true. Carbs have their place, and it's after you've earned them in an intense workout. Ninety-nine percent of the time, your fat cells are most sensitive to insulin spikes caused by sugary, starchy foods. (That’s not so sweet.) Post exercise, however, it's your muscles that take up these nutrients. This causes the muscles to grow and burn fat in the process.

So, rather than gaining fat from your carb-loaded meal, build muscle and burn fat by eating that meal, along with protein, at the right time: after a workout. Now that's a sweet deal.

By Jennette Holzworth, Gainesville Health & Fitness Personal Trainer This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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