Five tips for staying in shape this Christmas from the Right Path Fitness team
By Will Stroude
With the festive season just around the corner, you may be starting to worry about how you’re going to control your eating and maintain any kind of health and fitness regime during this typically indulgent time of year. Well, no need to worry because there are a few simple tips and tricks to ensure that you keep everything in check over the Christmas period – and don’t end up looking fatter than Santa come New Year’s Day! Read on to find out more.
Don’t skip meals
Christmas can be a time when established routines go out the window, and excessive drinking can lead to meals such as breakfast being skipped. Resist this temptation and make sure you don’t allow yourself to go too long without a decent meal. If you know you’re going to be eating a big, high-calorie meal on a certain day, choose a healthier, low-calorie option that morning to redress the balance. This will also help avoid being overly hungry, which can lead to excessive over-eating when the meal arrives!
Watch the liquid calories
Most people drink significantly more at Christmas, and while it’s the huge family dinners that usually provide the bulk of excess calories, it’s important to realise that alcoholic and even soft, fizzy drinks and mixers can contribute a significant amount of calories. So be mindful of how much you’re drinking and make sure you have some idea of the calorie content of each glass you throw down your neck! That way you can roughly work out how many calories you’re adding to your daily intake. If things start spiralling out of control, alternate alcoholic drinks with lower-calorie soft drinks or water.
Get creative with your workouts
Just because you may be away from home and outside your normal environment – often without access to your usual fitness facilities – that doesn’t mean you need to be totally inactive and let your regime slide altogether. Get creative with your workouts – whether it’s using two jumbo-size bottles of vodka for dumbbells, hijacking the stairs to perform elevated lunges, or chucking a niece or nephew on your back and using them for “weighted” squats. There are always options…
Become a child again
It’s something of a paradox but during the Christmas season, in some respects the best way you can remain a responsible, disciplined adult who takes care of their health and body, is to regress right back to childhood! By getting involved with what the younger members of the family are doing, you will generally stay more active and burn extra calories – have you ever noticed how children tend to be hyperactive and highly excitable, often running around all over the place playing with new toys while the adults tend to sit around all day, drinking and eating?
Protein bars
During the Christmas season, protein bars can be something of a life-saver. If you find yourself in an unfamiliar environment with family or friends ,where it would be inappropriate to start tucking into a proper meal, simply sneak off and devour a bar as soon as hunger strikes.
For more advice on nutrition and maintaining a healthy and fit body at Christmas – and all year – contact the Right Path Fitness team at rightpathfitness.co.uk