How to avoid putting on any extra weight over the holidays

Well well, here we are again. More cold weather means more indoor time which also means more chances of overeating and putting on that “holiday weight”. Did you know that this is all part of our natural instincts to hibernate during the winter and stockpile calories, as well as to sleep in more and avoid any energy demanding activities. To some extent we definitely are a slave to our lizard brains, but I’m going to give you all some tips to follow so you can tame your subconscious desires heading into the holiday season!

One of the most important things I can help teach you guys today is how binge eating is never the way for you to tackle your cravings. Usually during the holiday season you’re more likely to have these bigger meals that usually set you back in terms of progress with your body and or weight. So the best way to tackle this is to start counting your calories. I’m sure you’ve heard it before and it can definitely feel like a lot of work but understanding what amount of calories your body can maintain your weight at might be the most important thing you will ever know about your body. This allows you to switch out your food on days where you know there might be an event that may cause you to eat different food. If you know where you’re at calorie wise heading into these events, you’ll definitely be able to enjoy some delicious food while keeping your calorie count relatively consistent.

One of the best ways to ensure you don’t overeat is to fast and backload your calories. Let’s say for example you’re allowed to eat 2000 calories per day and these calories are made up of Meal 1 (1000 calories), Meal 2 (500 calories) and Meal 3 (500 calories). If you know ahead of time that you might be eating out, what you could do is estimate exactly how many calories you might be eating that night and skip your first or second meal. This allows up to 1500 calories that you can replace with different food that will allow you to end up at your normal daily intake of 2000. I would personally try to fast through the morning and afternoon and maybe have some protein shakes during the day to make sure you’re getting an adequate amount of protein relative to your body weight. This will make sure that your protein goal has been hit before you eat your cheat meals which are usually carb and fat oriented in nature.

In a worst case scenario where you eat over your calorie limit, don’t worry too much about it. Instead try to see if you can cut back your calories the day after equivalent to the amount you overate. So if you were supposed to eat 2000 calories but ended up going to 2500, you could skip Meal 2 and end your next day of eating at 1500 calories. This puts you back right where you left off with no damage done!

Counting calories takes sometime getting used to but if you can make it part of your lifestyle and learn how to read portion sizes without measurements, it will make your life that much easier and allow so much more flexibility come holiday season 🎄

Thanks for taking the time to read today’s blog, more will be coming soon so stay tuned! Have a great day everybody! 🤙🏼