Healthy Holiday Rescue
Have the Holiday festivities already gotten you a bit off track? We have all had those times when our healthy regime takes a back seat and things go off the rails a little bit with eating, drinking and exercise. From Thanksgiving to the New Year can definitely be one of those times for many of us. It is hard to stay on your normal healthy eating routine with those heavy holiday meals, happy hours with the extra calories of drinking and the added desserts. We are busy shopping, wrapping and worrying about everyone else which can very quickly lead up to more than a few missed workouts and a few unhealthy meals.
Around this time of year I often remind my clients to treat a holidays as one day not a month long bender. A single day is easier to recover from as apposed to taking a whole month off from your healthy routine. Even if you do over indulge a bit this holiday season you can get yourself back on track with a few simple steps. I have arrange 5 tips to help you anytime you find yourself needing to hit the reset button on your nutrition and fitness regime. You have to live your life and have fun but it is important to get back on track as soon as possible. The longer you let it go the harder it will be to turn around and the less motivated you become to make healthy changes in your life. As a health coach and trainer I hate to see people work so hard just to let it all slip away. The holiday season can easily turn into a 3 month span and before you know it you are back to square one starting all over again. Which we all know is not fun!
These tips are not just for those who already have a workout routine in place. This advice is for anyone who is ready to get started or needs to get their health and wellness back on track.
Drink like its your job, water that is:
I am assuming drinking half your body weight in ounces a day was not on the high priority list on your weekend endeavors so lets make this your first priority as you get back to or start your healthy lifestyle. Water has amazing detoxification benefits, it cleanses your body of toxins and supports your liver. Helps the body flush out fat and helps get rid of bloating and retention in the body.
Drink half your body weight in ounces of water a day.
Start your day with 16oz of water right when your feet hit the floor.
Drink a big glass of water before each meal.
Try adding lemon to your water to enhance the detoxing effect or try a detox water. My favorite is Dr. Oz Tummy tuck water.
Starting your day off with 16 ounces of water is something I recommend doing everyday, not just when you are in recovery mode. It gets everything moving early, your digestion, your elimination, and your detoxification. Target drinking half your body weight in ounces a day. It is ok if this takes you time to build up to but keep at it because it works. My clients that have committed to this say it has made a huge difference in their energy level, weight and metabolism. Drinking water before your meals will help you banish the overeating habits you may have gotten into. It will not only fill you up but will help fight some of those cravings you may be fighting off.
2. Do not weight yourself
There is no need to punish yourself for having a good time or for simply falling short on eating healthy and exercising from time to time. I do not like the tough love approach to health and wellness. We all fall short from time to time, have you read my blog “We are all a little broken”? I was a mess, but it is from that mess that I learned a lot about myself, and grew to understand that self awareness, forgiveness and reflection are much more powerful tools than beating ourselves up. We want to avoid the self hate that can come from stepping on that scale. It is just a number anyway, a number that can fluctuate hourly with water retention, poor diet and digestion, especially after a long weekend of unhealthy eating and drinking. What is important is how you feel. Get yourself healthy and feeling good then if you want to weight yourself weekly go ahead, just don’t let this number run your life. There are many ways to measure your heath and weighing yourself is just one.
3. Focus on Whole Foods
Get back to eating or start eating 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruits in one day and enjoy all of the many fantastic health benefits they provide. These complex carbohydrates are low in calorie, high in fiber and are loaded with nutrients. Because they are high in fiber they fill you up fast and help crowd out some of the higher calorie, higher fat foods that may be currently on your plate. The fiber in fruits and vegetables will also help support your body in its return to healthy digestion and helps the body eliminate toxins. Fruits are high in antioxidants which helps the body fight off toxins and give your immune system a much needed boast.
On the other hand as you focus on getting yourself back on track try to stay away from
Processed foods
Alcohol and caffeine
Refined Sugar and Carbs (the white stuff)
Dairy
Gluten
Meat
Give your digestion a little break and limit the above list for a bit as you get yourself back on track.
4. Work up a Sweat
You may not feel like it right away but getting back into a workout routine right away can help your body bounce back quicker from a set back than putting it off. Working up a sweat will not only detox your body (think sweat it out) it will helps you feel more energized, it will also get your mind and body reset and focused on your new goal. If you feel unmotivated try something new, just whatever you do do not put it off. The longer you put it off the harder it will be to get back into a routine. Check out my new live virtual class schedule or try my Fall on-demand 2 week trial promotion if you are looking to get started working out.
5. Let go of Guilt
It does absolutely no good to beat yourself up for falling short of your fitness and health goals. It happens to us all from time to time. The best thing to do is to let go and reset your mind on your new goals. Staying in a place of negativity will only hold you back from achieving any new goals and create a greater chance of repeating the same pattern over again. Take time to reflect on how you can integrate your healthy living goals into times when you may be off your regular schedule. Maybe plan to bring a healthy meal to an event, or seek out a smoothie or juice bar in your travels. Or perhaps skip the alcoholic drinks for one day and get a good workout in instead. You may be surprised that others would love to join you and support you as you make yourself and your health a top priority in your life. Know that it is ok to not always fit in to social situations and to be a little different. If you believe in the law of attraction like I do you know when you are being true to yourself and what is important to you the right people, events and situations will find you and the other not so healthy situations will fall away. Also take the time to honor yourself for doing your best in a not so healthy situation. Perfection is never part of any lasting healthy journey that is long lasting but learning about yourself, growing from setbacks and changing for the better are for sure.
