By Krista Harris
It’s that time of year; last-minute shopping, busy social schedules, perhaps with some financial stress and anxieties thrown in.
Christmas can be a stressful time of year that can cause all the good health habits built up over the year to go out of the window. We can often be left in January feeling defeated and a long, long way from where we were at the beginning of December.
But it doesn’t have to be like that!
You can still enjoy all the fun festivities with friends and family whilst keeping your health and fitness goals on track. Follow our tips throughout the festive period and feel better and healthier…
Here are Instinct Gym and Wellbeing’s 8 Tips for Staying On Track This Christmas:
1. Make time for movement
Schedule time in your diary to exercise. If you keep moving over the festive period, you will feel better and you are less likely to gain weight from the extra food and fun.
An easy way to keep moving is by planning in festive walks with your friends and family to get those 10,000 steps in.
Get to the gym and do your sessions as normal between the festivities, or do an at-home HIIT workout. If you are stuck for at-home workout ideas, check out Instinct’s 12 Days of FITMAS challenge.
2. Be smart with alcohol consumption
You can still enjoy having a few drinks during your festivities. Try opting for a lower calorie beverage or swapping out your mixer for a diet version, that way you can enjoy the same taste and fun but with half the calories.
3. Drink more water
Stay hydrated! It is easy to get swept away with all the festive drinks, but remember to also try and consume at least 8 glasses of water per day too. This will help to curb weight gain as hunger can often be confused with thirst, so if you are sure to drink enough you may find yourself snacking less.
Try having a glass of water in-between each drink and jazz up your water with fresh fruit.
4. Keep your portions in check
Eat until you’re full, not stuffed.
Holiday meals often mean big portions, so try and fill up on items that won’t break your calorie bank such as vegetables and salads. Still enjoy some of the good stuff – it is Christmas after all!
If you want to track your calorie intake, My Fitness Pal, is a great tool.
5. Prioritise sleep
Be sure to get your 7 hours sleep, research shows that when you are sleep deprived, the hormones that signal when we are full and hungry can be negatively affected.
We are more likely to crave sugar-rich foods for a quick burst of energy when we are tired and we can be prone to mindless snacking which can lead to overeating and weight gain.
6. Fill up on Turkey meat
You’ve got to choose your poison and turkey is a lean meat that’s relatively low in calories yet high in protein. So if you’re going to fill up on anything then there are worse things you could do it on than turkey.
Enjoy it!
At the end of the day, Christmas should be a time for you to enjoy food and drink with family and friends so keep a healthy relationship with food and don’t overthink it, sometimes there are more important things in life than abs.
The good news is – It’s not your habits between Christmas and New Year that shape your physique, it’s your habits between New Year and Christmas that do, so enjoy Christmas and make sure come the New Year you’re back on track.
If you are looking for support and guidance on your health and fitness going into Christmas and the New Year, email info@instinct78.co.uk or visit Instinct Gym and Wellbeing.
Also, if you are looking for support with your mental health this Christmas check out support available through the charity website Mind.
