On average people put on 5-7lbs over the Christmas period, however, there are people who put on a stone or even two stone.
Although this weight gain seems to be the norm, it doesn't have to happen to you.
In fact, you can look and feel fitter and firmer by New Years Eve without going without.
If you are like most people you will want to enjoy your food and maybe even have the odd alcoholic drink over Christmas. With the right strategy in place you can still do this whilst toning up and even losing weight.
Having a strategy will mean you can still have the things you want, but it doesn't mean you can go overboard. It just means plans will be put in place to limit the effects of indulging yourself over the festive period.
So what plans can you put in place over the Christmas period which can help you look and feel fitter and firmer by New Years Eve without going without?
Strategy 1 - Before the big night of indulgence
If you know you have a big night out planned of eating and drinking, then before you go out make sure you do a heavy weight training session. This is because it works with the insulin response caused by eating carb rich foods.
When you eat foods high in carbs, it releases your storing hormone insulin. Most of the time this is a bad thing as it leads to food being stored as fat. However, if you do a heavy weight training session before you eat a meal high in carbs then instead of insulin telling your body to store the food as fat, it tells your body to store the food in the muscle. This will help you to gain muscle rather than gain fat.
When I say a heavy weight training session it is relative to the person and their current strength. Whatever fitness level you are you will want to be lifting weights for anywhere between 6-12 reps to failure. It is also best to do a full body workout rather than working on a few specific muscle groups. This is because the more muscles you work, the more muscles will receive the food in order to build bigger and stronger. If you can't get to the gym to use weights, you can always do a bodyweight workout at home instead.
Strategy 2 - During the big night of indulgence
During your big nights out over the Christmas period make sure you fill up on protein and water before you eat your deserts and drink alcohol. This will help blunt the effects of weight gain due to eating excess carbs and drinking alcohol. Carbs alone or carbs and fat produce a massive insulin response which leads to fat gain, however, if you add in protein then it decreases the insulin response. Even though you will be doing a heavy weight training session before the meal to work with the insulin response to help you build muscle, you still want to blunt the insulin response as much as possible. This is because even though it will be pushing the food to the muscle because of the workout, too much insulin can still lead to fat gain as well as muscle gain.
By filling up on protein and water first is a great way to ensure you can have your treats with as little damage as possible to your physique.
Strategy 3 - End of the big night of indulgence
At the end of the night, whether you are indulging in foods you normally wouldn't eat or if you are drinking alcohol it is important that you go to sleep as early as possible.
It is the lack of sleep which turns a night of treating yourself into a few days, a week or even a month on continuous cheating.
During the night when you are asleep is when your hormones reset, however, if you go to sleep too late and don't give your hormones enough time to reset, then the next day your hormones are out of whack. This then leads to uncontrollable cravings for food and turns your 1 night of treating yourself into a longer binge.
Ideally you would still want to be going to sleep by 10.30 pm, however, if you are going to a Christmas party it may not finish until the early hours of the morning. If this is the case then go home and go to sleep as early as possible. The earlier you go to sleep the better and the less chance you will have struggling with cravings the next day.
Before you go to sleep it would also be a good idea to drink a large glass of water, especially if you have been drinking alcohol. Dehydration is another reason why people have uncontrollable cravings the next day as they mistake the signs of dehydration as sings of hunger.
Strategy 4 - The day after the big night of indulgence
The day after treating yourself is very important as it dictates whether it remains just a treat or if it turns into a binge. It also contributes to whether the night before is going to lead to weight gain or not or even possibly helps you to lose weight and tone up.
The morning after your treat night it is a good idea to go for a walk for at least an hour before you eat any food. This will help increase your metabolism and fat burning, however, it will also help de-stress your body and lower cortisol to help prevent weight gain around the midsection. You should also make sure you drink lots of water, especially if you have been drinking alcohol. Usually it is recommended you drink 1 litre for every 25kg of bodyweight, but if you have been drinking alcohol then you will want to drink at least 1.5 litres of water of every 25kg of bodyweight in order to re-hydrate your body. Re-hydrating the body is essential in order to recover quickly from the effects of the alcohol.
The foods you eat the day after indulging yourself are extremely important. Because of eating high carb foods or drinking alcohol the day before, it is important to have a low carb day. This means you should stick to meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and nuts only. Alternating high carb days with low carb days is a good way to trick your body into losing fat and overcoming a weight loss plateau. Ideally you would do this using natural carbs which are Elimination Diet friendly, however, as you are have been treating yourself then it is a great way to limit the negative effects and manipulate your treats into your favour to help you lose weight. This is definitely not a long term solution, but it is a good short term solution so you can have your treats and still work towards your goals.
It is also a good idea to exercise the day after your night out as well. You either want to do another heavy weight training session to build muscle or a high intensity interval training workout to burn off the calories from the night before. Your high intensity interval training session should last no longer than 30 minutes, this is because your body will be under stress by the food you ate the day before or due to the alcohol. Exercising intensely for over 30 minutes will cause the body too much stress and will cause you more harm than good so you want to keep your workout short and sweet.
Another tip is to take milk thistle. Milk thistle helps support your liver in the detoxification process. Taking milk thistle the day after drinking alcohol or eating foods which are usually banned will help your liver to detox the alcohol or the toxic substances in the foods faster so your liver can get back to burning fat.
If you use these 4 strategies around any nights out you have planned or any time you are planning on treating yourself to usually banned foods, then it will keep you on track towards your goals and will mean you don't have to go without over Christmas and you can still be feeling fitter and firmer by New Years day.
These strategies won't help you lose a stone in a week or produce amazing results (I'm sure you wouldn't be expecting that anyway if your drinking alcohol and eating chocolate), but it will help you to stay on track and lose a couple of pounds over the Christmas period whilst everyone else is gaining weight.
If you have any friends or family members you care about that you don't want to gain weight over Christmas then make sure you share this article with them.
Your Coach For Life
Shaun McGill
Shaun McGill is a Level 1 Health Coach at Dax Moy Personal Training Studio in Islington. He is also a proud Geordie loving life in London.
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