Merry Christmas from all of us at Vip and looking forward to another successful year; welcoming in another decade, saying hello to 2020!
What has 2020 got in store for you?
Let’s just rewind a little before we fast forward the celebrations. ? So Christmas is in December right! However we begin celebrations and the excesses more often than not around November, warming up to official celebrations and gaining the pounds as we go, and here lies part of the problem ? We welcome in a new year and think heck those work trousers or jeans appear a little more snug than usual. In trepidation you reluctantly tread on those scales, although the clothes have told us all we need to know, but we still need that shocking validation and remorse that follows.
So how do we stay on the right side of our goals? Enjoy the festivities and invitations to share in the fun with family and friends.
Health Hack Number #One, plot the celebratory calendar. Identify when they are and how frequent they will be occurring.
Why? Because what you do before and what you do after will keep the balance and at least at status quo meaning, no more weight gain but still enjoying the excesses.
How? Let’s strategize the festive season. We are aware that we have the works night out or extended family gathering Saturday night. Everything is on the menu and you will intend to have zero resistance to all that is on offer and I don’t blame you, I would to.
Lets rewind and manage the balance I’m referring to;
Excesses ahead tick
Possible continued weight gain tick
Enjoyment of all things nice including the company and camaraderie tick
How to avoid the weight gain and balance off the cumulative effect of all things sugar spice and nice!
Saturday is Party day, we know this already and it’s Monday. So let’s get a firm grip on what we need to do, No excuses, we want the best of both worlds here.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday and Saturday…… Introducing Intermittent fasting!
Nothing particularly new its been around for many years and used the world over for many benefits, I’ll come on to this but first we need to manage types of foods and our caloric intake being very aware of the coming; and very soon Party of all things in excess.
Monday straight through to Saturday you need to fast from 8pm until 12 or 1pm the following day, the Sunday before Monday of that week, start fasting from 8pm and Break the fast at either 12pm or 1pm you must consume the most nutritionally beneficial meal you can when you break your fast and keep it on the low GI scale of foods too.
What to consume? Examples will to choose foods that are densely nutritious such as home made soup packed full of vegetables and mostly the veg that is grown from the ground up and not the root as these vegetable from the root tend to be higher on the GI scale. If soup isn’t your thing then stews and casseroles loaded with vegetables and pulses especially this time of year will keep you sustained and comforted.
The greenest of all salads chopped and mixed with vibrant herbs of choice. Add Fish Meat, Tofu or high fat cheeses. Yes I said high fat and I don’t mean the entire block either. In terms of the amount of protein you’ll need to measure around 120g.The leanest source will be tuna chicken tofu. Salad dressings keep to a minimum anything that is manufactured is often loaded with unwanted junk and high in sugar. Olive oil and juice of one lemon or lime will add a little tang and flavour.
Omelette of choice and generous side salad will keep you nutritionally sound and satisfied. Sweet potato good fibre content and add topping of choice, this falls into the Medium gi scale. Cheese meat fish and or vegan options from plant based foods are perfect and thankfully now the supermarkets have a much wider choice available to us. I’ll add a Gi table for guidance.
Thursday Friday you want to aim at extending the fasting period to 18 hours. Then consuming your first nutritionally balanced meal at 18hours+ and consume further foods that fall into the low and medium list finishing your food consumption at 8pm. Saturday has arrived and you’ve saved yourself a few calories along the week and eaten really well. To enjoy the Saturday meal out and all the niceties that will come with it id suggest a light meal from low to medium GI choice and around 3pm, fully loaded with veg or salad and feel satisfied that the next meal will be thoroughly enjoyed because you’ve managed some damage limitation along the week.
I’ll recap here on the top 8 actions that’ll keep you on the right side of the scale
Identify when the celebrations are taking place
Give yourself a countdown so you can thoroughly enjoy the occasion guilt free and in control of your main goals (maintaining a healthy weight and not worrying about unwanted pounds)
Adopt intermittent fasting as a proven way to approach this
Exercise, you must exercise and whilst the calendar is busy sacrificing this is futile and not wise, aim to still get at least 3 x 40 minute cardio and strength training sessions in each week and if any fall out the good intentions bag. Walk or run before work and; before or after your evening meal and take the challenging route, hills of various gradients. Get outside even in the winter months the benefits I promise are huge and walking, running is free.
Motivation tips, are to think of The WHY? I’m doing this because I’ve no desire to gain weight over Christmas and feel uncomfortable in my clothes or be faced with regret and have to recover the efforts of keeping myself fit and well.
Politely decline the office chocolate or goodies lying around. The moment the resistance is low make yourself a Green tea, fruit tea or coffee. Flavoured water can be refreshing and takes the thought away of diving in and losing control.
Drink 1.5/2 litres of water daily. The more hydrated you are the less likely you’ll suffer mid afternoon slump and temptations all around.
Will power! The art of will power is overriding the initial impulse. Find the divert button. Walkaway from the area of temptation, meditation if you are struggling. Drink something warm like lemon tea for example you’ll be amazed at how the initial want can be dulled by simple overriding actions
The steering wheel is always in your hands. You decide the route you take. Take a wrong turn and you know the journey is always longer. Make a few wise choices and you can navigate smart and still enjoy the road ahead, stay on course and take in the view.
Best of luck and enjoy family friends and the abundance of the seasonal festivities ahead.
I wish everyone a happy and vibrant 2020.
This is not suitable for those with diabetes and if embarking on anything new where caloric restriction and time restricted eating is adopted, please consult a medical professional first to ensure the suitability. Our information is correct at time of publishing and always in good faith.
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