Understanding risks and benefits enhances your training
experience by giving you clearer distinctions, providing you with more choices
Now let me tell you, as a bodybuilder, I have a lot of
discipline. But when that moist, delicious, red and green, Jell-O- filled,
whipped-cream covered cake is sitting on the table in front of me on December
25th, it takes every ounce of my willpower to keep from calling it a "very
high carb day" and devouring numerous very large slices.
Despite the temptation, I don't "pig out" nor do I
deprive myself. Instead, I'm content with eating my single piece, savoring every
mouthwatering bite, all the while repeating my mantra, "nothing tastes as
good as being ripped feels."
The next day, on December 26th, I'm on the bike or
Stairmaster at the crack of dawn, followed by six perfect meals of lean protein
and complex carbohydrate - just like every other day of the year.
A week later, on December 31st, I usually go out for a nice
dinner (very naughty food, I must admit), and then we toast champagne to the New
Year at midnight. I'm in bed at a reasonable hour shortly thereafter.
Unless it's a scheduled day of rest on New Years day, I'm not
groggy and hung over like many of my friends are. I'm in the gym squatting,
bench pressing, curling, or "stairmastering" just like I usually am.
And here's the point: You can and should enjoy the holidays.
You can enjoy being with family and going out with friends. You can go to
holiday parties and have fun. You can enjoy a few "naughty" meals. You
can have some cake and a glass or two of champagne. There's no reason why you
can't enjoy yourself AND stay healthy, lean and fit through the holidays. All it
takes is some planning, some goal-setting and little dose of old-fashioned
discipline.
I'd like to share with you 10 ways that you can follow your
diet and stay in great shape over the holidays without turning into a miserable
Scrooge. If you follow this advice, then you'll be one of the proud few with a
New Year's resolution to be the best you've ever been in the new year to come -
instead of one of the guilt-ridden many who must resolve to reclaim what they
lost over the year that's just passed them by.
1. EXPECT TO STAY ON YOUR PROGRAM OVER THE HOLIDAYS
"Fail to plan and you plan to fail" is a time worn
and cliched statement, but it's still some of the best success advice you will
ever hear.
Not only do most people fail to plan, they consciously plan
to fail over the holidays. Most people expect to "blow" their diet and
skip workouts over the holidays. They expect to eat more, to exercise less and
to gain weight. As a result, they don't even make the effort.
Instead of taking control, they resign themselves to
maintenance at best, or back-sliding at worst. This negative expectancy leads to
a self-fulfilling prophecy. By the first week of January, they're in the worst
shape they've been in for a year and they frantically make New Year's
resolutions to shed the excess fat they've gained.
You can avoid this trap by planning to succeed. Set up a
positive expectation. Resolve now that you will not tolerate slipping backwards.
Keep your standards up and don't settle! Not only can you plan to "stay in
shape" over the holidays, you can plan to improve! All you have to do is
make the decision and expect success.
2. PLAN ALL YOUR WORKOUTS IN ADVANCE
You know your schedule is going to get hectic over the
holidays. You'll be cooking, shopping, wrapping gifts, sending cards, going to
parties, traveling, visiting family, and so on. To stay on your training and
nutrition regimen is definitely going to take some sound time management skills.
Plan your schedule in advance. Anticipate what's coming up.
Write it down. Put it on your calendar. By doing so, you won't be caught
unprepared.
Use a schedule book or monthly calendar and "make
appointments" for ALL your workouts for the next six weeks in advance.
Then, post a copy where you will be forced to look at it every day. This is a
powerful exercise that will keep you focused and force you to think about and
prepare for each upcoming workout.
If you try to "wing it" and squeeze in your
workouts and meals whenever you have time left over, you'll find that there
never IS any time left over! Somehow your daily activities always seem to
"expand" to fill the hours in every day. So schedule your workouts and
meal times in your calendar just like you would any other appointment or event.
Once you've done that, stick to your schedule religiously.
3. SET SOME COMPELLING TRAINING AND FITNESS GOALS OVER THE
HOLIDAYS
Don't wait until January 1st to set your goals just because
you think it will be harder to achieve them over the holidays. On the contrary,
studies on personal achievement have shown that you'll usually reach 80% of the
goals you put onto paper. The problem is that few people set any goals at all,
and fewer still set them during the holidays.
Why wait? Why not do it now? Set some big goals that you can
start working on during the holidays:
Set a goal to lose the 25 lbs you've always wanted to lose
NOW Set the goal to gain 10 lbs of solid muscle NOW Been contemplating a
competition in bodybuilding, fitness or the new ladies figure division? Pick an
early spring show and GO FOR IT - START TRAINING NOW!
Goal setting should not be a once a year affair, it should be
a continuous process. You should always have your goals in writing and your list
should be regularly updated and rewritten. If you only set goals once a year,
you're not going to accomplish much in your life.
4. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO HAVE "CHEAT DAYS"
- AND SCHEDULE THEM IN
A planned "cheat day" helps you to stay on your
program better in the long run. If you're too strict all the time, you're
setting yourself up for cravings and bingeing.
One cheat meal per week will have only a minor effect on your
physique. If you've been on a strict, low carb and/or low calorie regimen, a
cheat meal might actually be good for you! It will boost your metabolic rate and
give your body the signal that you're not starving and that it's ok to keep
burning a lot of calories.
Over the holidays, schedule your dinners and parties so they
fall on your cheat day. Then, on the other days of the week, be steadfast! Just
the fact that you know you have a "cheat day" coming up will relieve
the pressure of staying on a strict diet for a long time.
Also, when you do have your cheat meal - ENJOY IT! If you're
going to eat it and feel guilty, then don't have it at all. If you've stayed
with the program all week long, then when "cheat day" rolls around,
you deserve it!
5. IF YOU FALL "OFF THE WAGON," GET RIGHT BACK
ON IT
So you had about a dozen too many of those Christmas cookies
did you? Don't worry; because you have cheat days built into your plan, you
shouldn't let guilt immobilize you. Even if you fall completely off the wagon,
don't beat yourself up. All you have to do is get right back on your program
without missing another beat.
Too many people mess up once and then think their entire diet
is ruined. They feel as if everything they've done prior to that day was wasted
and there's no sense going on. Or even worse, they rationalize to themselves,
"Well, I already cheated, so it doesn't matter now, I might as well keep
pigging out."
That's nonsense. If you threw in the towel every time you
didn't score 100% on your diet, most people would never get through more than a
few days on any structured program. Just because you mess up once doesn't mean
you should quit! You're only human. Don't let one small slip keep you derailed.
Firmly plant your wheels back on the tracks and start rolling again.
6. MAINTAIN YOUR CONSISTENT EATING SCHEDULE
If there's one thing that all people who successfully get
lean and stay lean have in common, it's consistency. Without it, you never get
any momentum going. It's like taking two steps forward, only to take three steps
back.
Many people allow the busy Holidays to throw them off their
regular eating schedule. They completely veer off their usual five or six small
meals per day, or they start eating foods they would normally never eat (because
"it's there").
You have to keep your metabolic engine revving all year
round. Once you have it going, it's fairly easy to keep it going. But once you
lose it, it's very difficult to get it going again because you must overcome
inertia all over again. (An object at rest tends to stay at rest!)
On the major holidays, when there's a big dinner scheduled,
many people think that skipping their morning and afternoon meals to "save
room" for the big one later is a good idea. It's not. This is a sure-fire
way to invite a binge that could set your back for days.
Don't lose your consistency or your momentum. Continue with
your pattern of eating small, frequent meals all year round. All you have to do
is count your holiday dinners as one of your regular meals and keep them small.
7. CONTROL YOUR PORTION SIZES
You can have your cake and eat it too - you just can't eat
the whole thing! One of the most important rules to remember this holiday season
is the law of energy balance, which states: To lose body fat, you must consume
fewer calories than you burn up each day.
There are two corollaries to the law of energy balance:
1. Too much of ANYTHING will get stored as fat - even healthy
food.
2. Small amounts of ANYTHING - even junk food - will probably
NOT get stored as fat as long as you don't indulge too frequently.
There's no reason to deprive yourself of things you enjoy.
Just make sure you don't overindulge. As long as you enjoy your favorite foods
in moderation, and you keep working out, it probably won't end up around your
waistline.
8. DON'T BUY INTO THE LOW STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS OF
OTHERS
Keep your standards high, but don't expect other people's
standards to be as high as yours. Remember that most people have already planned
in advance to fail at fitness over the holidays. You've decided to stay strong.
Don't let their negative influence drag you down.
When you've reached your pre-ordained drink limit, say
"when" and switch to water or a non alcoholic, non caloric beverage.
When they offer you seconds on dessert, politely say, "no thank you, it was
absolutely delicious, but I'm full, I can't eat another bite." And when the
wee hours of the morning start to roll around, and your friends are egging you
on to keep partying, politely tell them you need your sleep. Tomorrow is a work
out day. If they're really your friends, they'll understand.
9. MAKE THE BEST CHOICES POSSIBLE IN EVERY SITUATION
You know those tables you see at holiday parties that are
covered with yards of chips, dips, pretzels, cookies, salami, candies, punch,
liquor, and a seemingly endless assortment of other goodies? Well, did you also
notice that there is usually a tray full of carrot sticks, cauliflower, celery
and other healthy snacks too?
No matter where you are, you always have choices. Sometimes
you have to choose between bad and worse. Other times you can choose between
good and better. But always make the best choice possible based on whatever your
options are. If nothing else, you can choose to eat a small portion of something
bad rather than a huge portion, thereby obeying the law of calorie balance.
Chances are good that there's probably something healthy on
the menu at every holiday gathering. As you know, lean proteins and fibrous
carbs are a great for getting lean, so fill up on the turkey breast, try to get
a vegetable in there, and go easy on the desserts.
10. IF YOU DRINK, ENJOY ALCOHOL IN MODERATION
If you enjoy having a few drinks on special occasions, then
go ahead and have a drink or two. But if you're serious about your fitness
goals, you must drink infrequently and in moderation. Alcohol almost totally
inhibits your body's ability to metabolize body fat. When there's alcohol in
your bloodstream, you're not in fat burning mode.
I've never met anyone in my life that was truly serious about
fitness or bodybuilding who was a heavy drinker. Alcohol and muscles just don't
mix.
The impact goes beyond added body fat; your energy levels and
workouts can be ruined for days after a night of heavy drinking. A glass of wine
actually has some health benefits. But there's NEVER any never reason or excuse
for binge drinking or getting drunk.
So go ahead and toast to the New Year, but know when to say
when.
CONCLUSION
This is a special time of the year; you can and should enjoy
it. However, taking a six-week "vacation" from the gym doesn't make
any sense - ever. There's no reason to let your training and nutrition program
spoil your holidays, but there's also no reason to let your holidays spoil your
training and nutrition program either!
