Hello you lovely people,

Its almost here…….Christmas!!!! A time associated with family and catching up with friends, but it also a time of a hell of a lot of food and drink! Figures actually show we on average consume 4,000-5,000 calories which looking at the studies and what they ate is actually scarily accurate! This is not a designed as a depressing or you have to be super healthy post – just a few ways you can keep on track and not ruin allayer hard efforts in the gym/through exercise! 

Below are a few simple tips that help me (and I hope will help you) to enjoy the Christmas period but not overdo it! Remember health and fitness is a lifestyle choice not a fad diet or quick fix – make choices to help you enjoy this lifestyle and never feel like you are on a diet again 🙂

1. Keep Moving 

Keeping your exercise routine up is important to keep focus and not lose sight of your goals. The gym will have different opening times so be sure to ask a member of staff, or look it up on their website and plan your workout times around this and other commitments.

If you have a particularly busy day and no time for the gym/it isn’t open then get up early and go for a run/walk getting up iand working out in the morning is the best to get your day started and gives no chance of not having time/making an excuse- get up and get it done!

 

2. Plan Ahead

If you know you have a dinner party/family meal – don’t fret! Christmas is a time to enjoy yourself so do choose something you like but maybe where you would have extra servings or a large three course meal – limit to one serving and opt to share your pudding or skip the starter – saving yourself extra calories which often we do all suffer from eyes bigger than our bellys!

 

3. Don’t Be Peer-Pressured 
So you are going out for a meal and you do feel like having the healthier option/don’t want a pudding – don’t feel like you can’t just because you are worried what your friends/family might say/think. You don’t have to explain yourself and they should be supportive of your decision but sometimes letting them know you trying to lose weight or be healthier can make you feel less self-concious of your decision. This is one I used to suffer from – afraid to say to my friends for fear of what they might think – but speak to your friends, true friends will be supportive of your decision and you may even persuade them into a healthier lifestyle!

 

4. Don’t Punish Yourself 

Following on from above there is a difference between wanting to be healthy and being restrictive. Someone who has a lot of weight to lose – being a little more restrictive is necessary but if you are in good shape already maybe could lose a lose pounds but not overweight then allowing yourself a meal out where you have want you like and enjoy your food is important. Being super restrictive all the time isn’t good for your body or your state of mind – I have been there done that and l whilst I may of been some peoples idea of a ‘good body’ I certainly wasn’t happy or healthy! Love yourself and enjoy your food – no food should be off limit just some enjoyed in smaller quantities than others.

However if you do happen to over-indulge and eaten the whole box of chocolates instead of just one – don’t feel a failure or that thats it you might as well give up till tomorrow/next week/the new year. Its the decisions and choices you make next that will affect your progress/results, ok you ate a little too much of that but take a break grab a big glass of water and plan your meals out for the rest of the day – make healthy choices not over restrictive but decent meals and I promise you will feel better for it 🙂

 

5. Healthy Bakes

Now anyone who knows me well will knowI have a SERIOUS sweet tooth so saying no chocolate/cakes/bro
wnies/cookies is never an option! I am always on the lookout for new recipes and ideas and love experimenting in the kitchen so be sure to check out the blog page for recipes or any ideas/recipes you have I would LOVE to hear from you 🙂 I get all my ingredients from Vivo as there products are 100% natural and organic making me feel great as well as tasty bloody amazing – check out my favourite recipe ingredients here!

For times when i don’t have time to bake I always make sure I have in some tasty treats from Vivo Life and Quest bars from The Natural Whey (SMNWC gets you discount on these beauties) or order from Muscle Food as well as a load of other protein based goodies and great meat selection bargain prices! (Plus extra chicken/steaks on your first order – using code SM190331).

 

6. Set Goals 

So now we know how to avoid/limit temptation how do we stay focused?…easy, set goals! Why wait for the new year to start your goals – set them now and be ready for when new years comes. Make sure your goals are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Action-Based, Realistic, Timed. Set yourself smaller goals to keep focus so prehaps your long term goal is to lose a stone by May – work out the steps you need to take to get there, so first one might be joining the gym and attending one class per week, two might be seeing a Personal Trainer and working out a programme to get you to your goal, three might be cleaning up y
our diet and looking at what changes you can make to create a balanced and healthy eating plan you can stick to – no fads or crash dieting! Ask your PT or a nutrition specialist like the guys at Vivo Life who are so lovely and friendly and more than willing to help!

Any questions you may have on anything I have written or any feedback/comments good or bad – I would love to hear from you and what you guys think of this 🙂 Thanks for reading and please share if you know anyone who would benefit from this 🙂

 

Lots of love,

Sinead x