I’m already feeling a bit of panic in the air! Some clients of mine heading away over the Xmas/New Year period have sheepishly said to me “I’m going to need your help in the new year!”

Does this sound like you? Have you already hit the internal panic button because you think that all your hard work is going to be undone in a matter of days? Are you training a little more than usual right now in an attempt to lose a couple of kilos before you go away on holiday?

You’re not alone lovely! EVERYONE gets a bit nervous about Xmas day and all that food and alcohol. In fact, it’s probably already started with Xmas parties and functions to go to! And if you’re going away…you’ve got days/weeks of it! Am I making you panic more now? Please don’t! Let me help you all out a little with these tips of mine 🙂

How To Beat The Bulge Over Xmas (and still enjoy yourself!)

1. First and foremost…Xmas is meant to be a time of giving, receiving, family time, afternoon naps and yummy food! If there’s one day of the year to let yourself go a bit, it definitely has to be Xmas! So…allow yourself this day without guilt and enjoy.

BUT…

If “letting yourself go” for a day makes you feel stressed and not in control, then you can…

2. Stick to mostly protein and salads/roasted veggies. There’s always going to be turkey, ham and/or seafood to choose from, so the protein part is easy. I’m sure your dining table will also have salads and roast veggies. It’s the potato salad, mince pies, Xmas pudding with ice-cream & brandy sauce, chocolates etc, that get ya! Try to fill yourself up on the protein/salads so you don’t over indulge on the sweet stuff.

3. Don’t skip breakfast. I’m sure a lot of you do skip it to save enough room for what’s to come, and because you know you’re going to eat a lot, so why have breaky…right? But this is a mistake. You don’t want to be starving by the time you sit down to eat. 1. You’ll over indulge. 2. You might start ‘picking’ on dips and sweets floating around the house whilst you’re waiting. 3. By eating a small breakfast such as 2 eggs and a side of spinach/avo, you’ll stabilise your blood sugar levels, allowing for a slow and steady rise so by the time lunch comes around you’re ready to eat but not ready to gorge! 4. By fasting until lunch time, your body is more likely to have a negative insulin response to anything containing carbs/sugar.

4. The joy of leftovers! I don’t know about you, but even after having a big lunch, I’m still ready to eat something by dinner time. But this is generally just some left over meat or seafood with some green salad. Nothing to stress myself out over. The leftovers tend to go on for at least 5-7 days in my family’s kitchen…I’m sure it does for you as well. If the potato salad is still floating around, try digging out the egg only and not the potato! When you think about it, there are a lot of healthy options available.

5. Okay, so what if you reaaally over indulged and feel bloated, down on yourself and a bit like a fatty boomba ;-)? Then definitely download my meal plans!

6. If the thought of all those sweet temptations is too much for you, but you don’t want to miss out on the yummy stuff, I’d highly recommend downloading Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar Christmas Meal Plan. The recipes are incredible! She has a meal plan for brunch, barbeques and traditional meals with a twist plus lots of added bonuses such as a shopping list for each meal plan and a ‘leftovers’ guide. I’m definitely incorporating a few of the recipes into my Christmas lunch plan 🙂

7. Let’s talk about booze. Alcohol also plays a pretty big roll in a lot of family’s Xmas day. My advice? Max it at 2 glasses and stick to either wine (the fructose in the fruit is what gets converted to the alcohol, making it fructose free), beer (maltose instead of fructose) and dry spirits or with soda water and fresh lime/lemon. Even though these beverages are fructose free, the alcohol content still has a negative effect on your body, especially your waist line, so don’t drink much.

Bonus Tips:

• If there’s time, go for a run in the morning and fire up your metabolism! Or some body weight squats, lunges and push ups in your bedroom is good!
• If you live in Perth, my bootcamps will be resuming on January 7th at Cottesloe Beach…perfect to blast away any unwanted weight gain and such a beautiful location. Email me to register or to discuss personal training.

I hope this has been helpful! Got some tips you’d like to share with everyone? Leave a comment below!