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5 Tips for Managing December
by Mike Howard
A long December and there's reason to believe, maybe this year will be better than the last..."
Counting Crows, Long December
Ah, December... The hustle and bustle, the cakes, cookies, chocolates, gingerbread men, gingerbread lattes, gingerbread houses, gingerbread cookie dough, brunches, lunches, dinners, afternoon tea (with shortbread cookies), hot chocolate with a baseball-sized dollop of whipped cram, festive cocktails...
These are just some of the wonderful things that accompany the holiday season. What's not so wonderful, is when those indulgences end up on your belly and hips. Here's how to avoid packing it on this Holiday season.
by Mike Howard
A long December and there's reason to believe, maybe this year will be better than the last..."
Counting Crows, Long December
Ah, December... The hustle and bustle, the cakes, cookies, chocolates, gingerbread men, gingerbread lattes, gingerbread houses, gingerbread cookie dough, brunches, lunches, dinners, afternoon tea (with shortbread cookies), hot chocolate with a baseball-sized dollop of whipped cram, festive cocktails...
These are just some of the wonderful things that accompany the holiday season. What's not so wonderful, is when those indulgences end up on your belly and hips. Here's how to avoid packing it on this Holiday season.
- Don't Deprive Yourself! The most sure-fire way to set yourself up for failure is to try and take a hard-lined stance against Christmas treats. To me, there is just too much temptation and tradition to avoid these delicacies altogether. That said...
- Make a Plan: Outline a "Christmas goodies plan of attack". By deciding beforehand what and how much you what to sample, you can go into any situation with more confidence more immune to random and mindless shoveling. For example: You are face to face with a table full of no less than 10 mouth-watering sweets. Pick 3 different pieces (relatively small).
- Exercise! Between shopping, social engagements and other festive commitments, scheduled workouts tend to wane. Prioritize your workouts! Knowing that you are putting more high glycemic calories into your body, keeping to your workouts whenever possible becomes a formidable tool in keeping weight gain at bay. Consider higher volume training - increasing the sets and reps of your weight workouts. This will give you a better "sponge" for storing glycogen in the muscle. (Thanks to Lyle McDonald for that tidbit).
- Load up on veggies and lean meats: In addition to hitting the weights, hitting the cruciferous and otherwise colourful veggies and protein can prove beneficial. Trust me; "cheat meals" have a funny way of showing up at Christmas time. It's a matter of doing what you can, when you can. That means being prepared by taking salads, nuts, baby carrots, mandarin oranges etc. to eat throughout the weeks leading up to Christmas.
- Stay focused! At some point this month, you may very likely be thinking "Well, I've already blown it, I might as well..." SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! Don't even go there! Do not allow yourself to go down that road. Enjoy all of the wonderful treats that are synonymous with the season. When you eat these treats, enjoy them slowly and savour them. Just go into the battleground that is December with the right amour - knowledge, a positive attitude and restraint.