Staying on your diet and still remain in shape over the holidays – Five guidelines for keeping that great shape (Part One)

We all like the enjoying the company of our family members, friends or colleagues at work. It is actually health and fun being surrounded by people you can lean on for support in good or bad times. These groups of people are normally available for us and so they are the ones we would wish to celebrate with during our organized events or holidays. It is during this holiday period that we often tend to make mistakes which can have savior consequences in our general health and lifestyle. This article is the first part of our two series article where we are going to discuss on the best ways of staying on your diet but still remain in shape during holidays. Therefore stay tuned on the link for more information which will be very beneficial to you during your time out with your family or friend on holidays. Ideally everyone should enjoy their holidays. For instance:

• You can enjoy being with family and going out with friends.
• You can go to holiday parties and have fun.
• You can enjoy a few “naughty” meals.
• You can have a piece of cake and a glass or two of champagne.

There’s no reason why you can’t enjoy yourself and still remain healthy, slim and fit through the holidays. All you need to do is to have some planning in place, set some realistic goals and being discipline to your target. For the purpose of this two part series I’d like to share with you 10 productive ways to help you follow on your diet and remain in great shape over the holidays without really turning into a “miserable Scrooge.”

Remain your program over the holidays

It is always said that when you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. This is one of the best strategies you should have. For sure not only do we fail to plan but we are intentionally planning to fail over the holidays. Most people expect to “blow” their diet and skip workouts over the holidays. They expect to eat more, to exercise less and to gain weight. As a result, they don’t even make the effort. We often fail to take control and approach the holiday with a lot of unhealthy practices. Before we know it is January and we draw the New Year’s resolution and guess what? The first resolution is weight loss. By this time we are in our worst shape for things we could avoid if we planned well. To avoid these failures we must plan to succeed even as we have fun in holidays.

The expectations must be positive.

Be determined not to entertain the thought of slipping back.

Keep your standards up and don’t relent.

Remember that you can plan to stay in shape over the holidays and at the same time planning on how to improve on your weak points. All you have to do is make the decision, remain focus and expect success.

Advance workout plan

Appreciating the commitments during the holidays, it is only necessary that you schedule every event properly. For instance you will be cooking, shopping, and wrapping gifts, sending cards and going to parties, traveling, visiting family, and many more. With such activities staying on your training and nutrition regimen is definitely going to take some sound time management skills and discipline.

• Plan your schedule in advance.
• Anticipate what’s coming up.
• Write it down on your calendar.
• By doing so, you won’t be caught unprepared.

Using a schedule book, make appointments for all your workouts for the whole holiday season. For consistent reminder, pin a copy of the schedule in a visible place. This will keep you focused and memorize thereby preparing for the entire upcoming workout. For any success, schedule your workouts and meal times in your calendar just like you would any other appointment or event. Then stick to your schedule devotedly.

Set some compelling training and fitness goals over the holiday period

Don’t wait until January 1st to set your goals just because you think it will be harder to achieve them over the holidays. On the contrary, studies on personal achievement have shown that you’ll usually reach 80% of the goals you put onto paper. The problem is that few people set any goals at all, and fewer still set them during the holidays. Why wait? Set some big goals that you can start working on during the holidays. Remember that setting goals should not be a once a year affair, it should be a continuous process. Ensure that your objectives are documented and updated regularly in writing.

Give yourself permission to have “free meals” – and schedule them in

Remember to plan for free meals or re-feeding day, this helps you to focus on your program better in the long run. Being too strict all the time may result in cravings and binge eating. Therefore a few free meals per week will have very little effect on your physique. Also, if you’ve been on a strict, low carb and/or low calorie regimen for a long time, a full day of maintenance level calories might actually be good for you! It will boost your metabolic rate and give your body the signal that you’re not starving and that it’s ok to keep burning a lot of calories.

Ensure that your free meals are schedule over the holiday’s dinners and parties. Then, for the rest of your meals, be dedicated. Always remember that the fact that you know you have free meals coming up will relieve the pressure of staying on a strict diet for a long time.

If you fall off the wagon, get right back on it

It may not be business as usual; sometimes you may fall into the temptations of unhealthy feeding during the holidays. This is normal and should not be the reason for you to get discouraged. The most important thing is realizing that you have fallen and picking up the pieces very fast and getting back to the plan without missing another beat. Remember that discouragement and giving up are no options. In such situation you may need the expert opinion to help you get back on truck. Dr. Dalal Akoury, who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, is offering her exclusive NER Recovery Treatment to individuals like you, other physicians and health care professionals through training, clinical apprenticeships, webinars and seminars. Therefore don’t feel dejected that everything you’ve done before is gone to waste. It is never that way call doctor Akoury today for professional direction and you will succeed in the race. Finally remember to join us in part two of this series where I will be discussing five more point which will help you in this journey of staying on your diet and still remain in shape over the holidays.

Staying on your diet and still remain in shape over the holidays – Five guidelines for keeping that great shape (Part One)