Having and Eating Your "Cake"

Greetings Fitters,
 And Happy Christmas Eve, and whichever holiday you celebrate in your home. As the holiday comes upon us, I as a fitness professional reflect on the nutritional choices that all of my clients will be facing in the next few days. The stresses and the worries they will face as they drive to their family events, anticipating the decisions they will have to make, or fearing the guilt they will undoubtedly feel after they indulge.

I feel for them, and for everyone who goes through these holiday woes. But it is unnecessary, as long as we know how to approach the festivities.

For the holidays, and for every time of the year that isn't a holiday, it is important to remember: we are all human. And like most humans, we have all partaken in some less than healthy foods. It is borderline impossible to eat the healthiest of foods all of the time. And the energy and worry that we place into it is utterly exhausting. So what can we do to avoid those types of foods?

Built in Cheat Days: Allowing yourself a meal throughout the week to indulge is great for a lot of different reasons. One, it allows you to enjoy the foods you....enjoy. Secondly, it gives you a release from the pressure of eating healthy all day every day. It also gives you something to plan and look forward to each week. That being said, don't take advantage of the cheat day. Build one big meal in one day a week, and stick with it. Even plan out the very specifics of the meal. "I'm going to go have the pasta dish at (insert favorite restaurant) with a glass of wine." The rest of the week, keep it healthy (see The Magical Formula for Weight Loss). A great place to start? Well...tomorrow is Christmas. Keep it your cheat day, and then start planning out once a week for a meal out, homemade pizza, etc.

Even an athletic superstar like the Rock has cheat meals...he ate this all for one meal!

Don't Have the Cake Around: Want to make sure you don't eat your "cake" is to not have your "cake" to begin with! I have a strong weakness for ice cream. When my family visits, it always seem to show up, and it always gets left in my freezer when they leave. I have absolutely no willpower to avoid it. So I make it a point to never buy it for myself. If you know you won't be able stop yourself, don't put yourself in the position to make bad choices. After the holidays are over, send the leftovers home with your family members. That will keep you from packing in the calories day after day following the festivities.

Use these tips throughout the holidays (and every day after) along with the tips I gave in This Post to help you lose/avoid the pounds over until the new year.

Stay Fit.