Alrighty then.  It’s begun, hasn’t it?  Some of you have been to a few parties as my count goes, and this is the week these holiday parties really heat up.  Here’s your first bit of sage advice…don’t drink 3 quarters of a bottle of Crown Royal at your office party.  (don’t judge, I was 24)  Even more important, some advice on how to NOT ruin all the hours of hard training you have put in over the last month…or two, or three depending on how much of a social butterfly you are.  Here’s my list, and I would check it twice if I were you….

1)      Eat BEFORE you party. Yes, eat a dinner before the dinner.  I’ve seen it a thousand times, you skip meals all day leading up to the event because you know you are “going to be bad”.  That is bad for a variety of reasons, but for our purposes here it’s strictly for curbing your appetite.  Same reason why I always tell you to eat small frequent meals all the time anyway.  So I’m not saying eat a huge meal, that is what you are trying to avoid, but eating a satisfying meal will curb the urge to hang around the buffet table…or the open bar (yikes) for that matter.

2)      Drink plenty of water the day before, the day of, and obviously the day after (especially if you throw up) the party.  If you didn’t know this already, what oftentimes is mistaken for hunger pangs is really your body telling you “can you please drink something besides a Diet Coke?”

3)      Building upon the last one…beverages. No one is telling you not to drink, however…couple of points  a) someone has to be dd, why not you? let your husband act a fool  b) curb the sugar drinks…not condoning it, but I’ll tell you what I do once a year..vodka, Fresca, and fresh squeezed lime.  Yeah I know Fresca is diet soda, but every once in awhile it won’t kill you (most likely).  c) final point on drinking…the average pour on a glass of wine is at least 5 oz…that’s what YOU pour, not what should be poured.  If you went to 4 holiday parties, and consumed 3 drinks at each one, that would be approximately 1200 calories in alcohol alone…just sayin

4)      Don’t skip any workouts! – You’ve heard this from me before, but now is the time to NOT miss your workouts.  Listen, whether or not you get your workout in, your days and weeks WILL be crazy this time of year…that ain’t changin’.  So why not take out a little stress on the muscles?  Schedule them and get em done.  You might deal with your day a little better in the process.  Plus, you’ll be extra buff to fight off and through crowds.

5)      Extra cardio the day of.  Get your butt up and do a little cardio, or better yet, do some sprints about an hour or two before the party.  That will rev up your metabolism quite nicely before a calorie fest.  May not offset it, but you can curb the damage.

6)      Finally, do me a favor and don’t just say to yourself, “There’s no way I can make any progress during the holidays”  You are setting yourself up for more frustration in the new year if you go into the last few weeks of the year with that attitude.  You’ll force yourself into more resolutions that you won’t keep.  Enjoy yourself, but keep it in check by staying consistent with your workouts, watching portion sizes, and drinking plenty of water.

Here’s my game plan for my vacation and party filled next two weeks….

1)      Schedule and fulfill a workout EVERY day (the obvious)

2)      Going to Florida, so going to purchase a week membership to my sister’s gym

3)      Going to limit my starchy carbs (not cut them out, but limit) on party and holiday event days because I know most of the meals I eat will be carb-laden

4)      I will limit alcoholic beverages to no more than 2 on every occasion/event

Just a few commitments to think about if you need some ideas.  Like goals and food journals, committing them to paper is key.  Probably on a few of you will, but you can be one of those few and be better because of it!

Merry Christmas & Happy (belated) Hanukkah!

Happy day,

Chris

Chris Buckley, B.S. Exercise Science, is a certified Fitness Trainer and exercise physiologist, graduate of the University of Florida and fitness professional located in Roswell, GA. Buckley is the owner of BodyBack! Women’s Fitness Boot Camps…serving Roswell, Woodstock, Milton, and NE Marietta, and has posted more information on his website, www.RoswellBootCamps.com.  To try a trial week of his fat churning, calorie burning boot camp…click on the registration link at http://www.roswellbootcampsforwomen.com/roswell-boot-camp-registration.html

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