If you skip out on meals with your family and friends at Christmas because you’re on a diet, you’re a moron.
Seriously…
(unless you’re prepping for a bodybuilding show which I assume most of you aren’t)
Eating throughout the Christmas and New Years period is simple, just make smart decisions and enjoy yourself, after all how often do you get to spend time with all of the people that are closest to you.
Here’s my go-to tips to follow over the next few weeks to allow some extra room for Christmas pudding, countless beers or wine and plenty of other high calorie delicious foods without feeling guilty about it.
#1 Stop eating when you’re full. For those of you who are following flexible dieting and sticking to macronutrient targets each day, if you get home at night and have a heap of calories left over for the day even after you’ve eaten dinner then just leave them, save them up for later in the week when you’re most likely to over-eat.
#2 Train like an animal. This time of the year is the perfect opportunity to make progress in the gym, extra calories won’t turn into body-fat if you’re putting them to good use in the gym and expending a little more energy.
#3 Drink more water. You’re much less likely to over-eat if you’re well hydrated and drinking water before and during your meals.
#4 Increase protein intake and reduce carbohydrates and fats on the days you know you’ll be over-eating or having a few drinks.
If I know that I’ve got a big dinner or going to be drinking a few beers with the boys later in the day here’s an example of what my meals might look like before hand..
Meal 1: Skip this meal and drink a black coffee and 1 scoop of branch chained amino acids.
Meal 2: Eggs with spinach, broccolini and tomato.
Meal 3: Protein source (chicken, beef, fish, kangaroo) along with a big bowl of green veggies)
Meal 4 and onwards: Whatever I feel like as long as I still manage to eat some high quality protein and veggies or salad along with it.
#5 Do NOT starve yourself.
This is the worst thing you can do, you’re 10 x more likely to over-eat if you’re starving by the time you eat. Just be sensible about your meals.
#6 Complete 2-4 HIIT sessions per week lasting not longer than 15 minutes.
These need to be HIGH intensity, short and effective.
#7 Hit your macros as best as you can on the days you don’t have anything on, control what you can.
#8 Realise that within 1-2 weeks you’ll be back to normal, use this time of the year to relax and enjoy yourself. The last thing you want is to regret not enjoying this time with family and friends. Body fat can be removed but you can’t go back in time to create memories that you missed out on.
#9 Ditch the scales.
Seriously, they’re shit at the best of times let alone during this time of the year. Yes you’ll most likely be a little heavier from the extra water weight due to an increase in glycogen stores and sodium, who cares. Best way to get rid of this is to drink more water. Just know that it’s not fat, it’s water.
Enjoy yourselves, life’s too short to skip good food 😉