How To Save Your Shape During Holidays

Watch out! The holidays are coming. Holidays can be depressing if you are in the middle of a weight loss program. This article will be very useful for everyone who wants to stay in good shape over the holidays or maintain the progress you've made on a weight management program. Not only will you be forced to face the increasing temptation of those yummy seasonal holiday foods and beverages, but special occasions will take you away from your regular exercise activities, especially while you are away and there is no possibility for you to access the gym. Some people gain a few pounds of body weight after the holiday--most people gain a lot. Here are some tricks you can apply to counter that situation without ruining the fun of the holiday itself.

Part I: Exercise

1. 4 weeks before the holidays, change your training routine to the overreach technique. The purpose of this strategy is to give a slight overtraining condition for the body, so that when the holidays come, your body will use the extra energy to recover from the damage of those last few weeks. But you must do this technique very carefully by not overdoing it and by taking enough vitamins and other nutritional requirements for the body such as a good balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat. Otherwise, you will end up spending your holiday in bed being sick.
2. When the holiday comes, try to do your basic home exercises such as the plank, push-ups, sit-ups, and body weight squats every day for at least 30 – 45 minutes, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. The purpose of this strategy is to make the body burn some fat by using the low glycemic condition created in your 8 hours' sleep. If it is possible for you to do cardiovascular activities such as jogging, exercise walking, biking, etc., it will be best for you to do these kinds of exercises instead of the home exercises mentioned above. But if you are unable to do cardiovascular activities, then rely on your home exercise routine.
3. Try to do the exercises of point #2 at night several hours before you go to bed in addition to your morning exercise routine. The purpose of this strategy is to burn any excess calories you might have had during the day.

Part 2: Diet

1. 4 weeks before the holidays, if you are in the middle of an extreme diet (e.g. low carbohydrates diet, tiger diet, mayo diet, etc.), try to reduce the intensity of the diet by periodically adding a small portion of a substance that you cut out (are not allowed to eat). The purpose of this strategy is to get your body to adjust to the “bad” stuff first so it will not over-absorb everything bad you might eat on your holiday.

2. Pay serious attention to your water intake. Make sure your water intake always fulfills your water requirements for the day. Good water intake can help the body's systems to function more effectively, including the fat-burning system.

3. Once you meet the dining challenge, try to always eat good food first (e.g. leafy vegetables, fibrous food, meats, chicken, fish, etc.) before you eat the less healthy foods. These good foods will fill you up, so you won’t be tempted to have too much of the bad foods.

4. Last but not least, always try to avoid the ‘really bad foods’ (fried food, especially fried carbohydrates, trans fat, and hydrogenated fats), as the body will have difficulties breaking these fats down into energy.

So, the holidays are coming. Don’t waste anymore time. Start to prepare your body to survive the fun. Happy Holidays.