HOLIDAY DIET TIPS

How to avoid excess holiday weight gain and some diet tips that can help.

Here are a few holiday diet tips for triathletes or any athlete for that matter who wants to be careful about gaining excess weight over the holiday seasons.

KEEP UP WITH TRAINING

This may seem logical and simplistic to many, but there are people who simply take December off from training in order to devote their time to holiday related activities.

Many of these activities like office parties, visiting relatives etc. almost always involve over-indulgence of food and drink.

If you combine this with the lack of physical activity to keep things in balance, it does not take long to put on unwanted weight and decrease ones level of fitness but with a few holiday diet tips you can easily avoid things getting out of hand.

So the number one thing to remember if you are trying to stay on top of your fitness for the upcoming big race in the Spring of Summer is to always incorporate at least “some” training into your plans even during the holiday weeks.

This will help create a balance and will also off-set the effects of over-indulgence during holiday affairs.

For example, you can easily cut down your normal weekly training regimen by 50% and still stay really fit and not miss a beat and just pick up where you left off before the holidays. Combine this with a few holiday diet tips and you will have no problem striking a balance.

Give yourself a few extra rest days per week during December for instance and maybe work-out 3 days per week instead of 5.

Going for that one hour run or 1500 meter swim will make you feel much better about over-indulging on occasion.

AVOID THE HOLIDAY SWEETS

You most likely don’t eat tons of cake, cookies, chocolates etc. during the course of the year so do your best to avoid over-indulging in these simple carbohydrates.

It can be pretty tempting with all the great Christmas treats everywhere you look, but taking it easy on the sweets will help you avoid gaining extra weight.

A little bit of will-power goes a long way.

Many people you visit may make an extra effort to bake goodies for the holidays and you can still be polite and enjoy the efforts of someone’s hospitality without over-doing it.

Drinking is also a favorite pastime at Christmas and avoiding drinks that require soft drinks or eggnog for mix would be a good idea.

Stick with the occasional glass of beer for the sake of being social and you will be far better off.

CHRISTMAS DINNER HOLIDAY DIET TIPS

Ever wonder why people feel so tired after that big turkey dinner at Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving?

Sure it’s from eating too much, but it’s also because of the over-load of rich foods like gravy, cranberries, breads, buns, deserts and too much turkey etc.

If at all possible, stick to white turkey meat for starters. Gravy is a killer because it is comprised mostly from the fat from the turkey. If you can avoid the gravy or just go with a very small amount it would be a big step in the right direction.

Cranberries are normally cooked with a cup of sugar and a cup of water and boiled down to create the sauce. So because of this it is loaded with calories.

If you are cooking it yourself, you can simply use half the sugar suggested and have a less sweet, more tangy cranberry sauce, or if not just avoid it or have a small amount like a tablespoon for instance.

It goes without saying that at the end of a big turkey dinner you will most likely encounter the desert that puts the crowning touch on the over-indulgence during the holiday meal.

Again, you can politely avoid it or have a small amount.

AFTER DINNER EXERCISE

Well, you don’t have to run 15 miles after dinner, but it’s a great time for the whole family to go out for a walk and get some fresh air and begin burning off some of those excess calories.

For many families this is actually a tradition anyway and it’s especially nice if you happen to be lucky enough to have lots of snow and amazing Christmas lights decorating the houses in the neighborhood.

THE DAY AFTER

Say for example it’s Boxing Day. There’s nothing wrong with getting up an hour earlier than the rest of the family and going for a nice easy one hour run.

This will help you feel great and will get you back on track as the holidays wind down.

Take a few days rest before the New Year’s celebration and take it easy on the celebrating and bringing in the new year.

Every New Years morning I have had a ritual for years of going for a two hour run. In order to do this I could not be hung over so it made me take it easy. I pretty much followed all these holiday diet tips that I have mentioned in this article.

That run also set me up for getting back into my regular triathlon/Ironman training program as the new year began.

Really, it’s just a matter of common-sense. If you work hard all year to be fit and look great, there is no law saying that you have to lose everything and gain weight and lose your fitness level just because December arrives. Follow these few holiday diet tips and you will be just fine and still have a great time.

Maintain a balance in all things, and incorporate at least some physical exercise into the Christmas holidays and you will enjoy yourself and still not miss a beat once the holidays are over.