Fit For Life: ‘Tis The Season

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Matt Espeut, GoLocalWorcester Health +Lifestyle Contributor

Yes, the season of drinking, eating, and being merry is in full swing. Heck, I have 3 parties this week alone! And, I am sure your lives are becoming just as hectic. It's unavoidable. We are all surrounded by food and festivities and it's impossible not to become part of it. And it's all good, because we SHOULD be part of it.

This time of year brings joy and happiness to most of us and I am not about to be a buzz kill and advise you to miss it. But I am also not going condone reckless eating, drinking and missing your workouts. Yes, I understand that cheating more than usual is necessary, but it isn’t necessary to let things get out of hand. Sure, have a cookie or two at a dinner party, but don’t spend your day dipping into candy and cookie tins at work. There is no reason for that, and you are just using the holidays as an excuse to fall off your plan. Be stronger than that!

You are either going to feel guilty you did it, or you will go into a tailspin and totally sabotage all the hard work you put in all year long. I don’t want to see that happen. I want you to enjoy the holidays but the last thing I want to see is regression in your routines.

So let me give you some advice as how to minimize the damage.

Drink double fisted!

Yes, that's correct, always have two drinks with you. The beverage of your choice and a bottle of water. Ideally, no alcohol is the best option, but we are being realistic here. When you have a cocktail, always follow it with a bottle of water. This will keep you hydrated, and partially fill you up, so you will eat less. You will also feel much better in the morning.

Don’t arrive hungry.

Always eat something healthy before you enter a party. If you do this you will be less likely to binge, and if the choices are really poor, you won’t eat anything you will truly regret. Arrive hungry, and inhibition falls to an all-time low, and you will eat whatever is in front of you.

Green and Protein first.

Always opt for the skewers of chicken and beef when the hors d’oeuvres are being passed. If tenderloin bruschetta is available, grab a few of those and ditch the bread. I am not a fan of pork, but scallops wrapped in bacon will do less damage to your waistline than the fried and bread based options available. Don’t forget to load up your plate with the veggies on the crudités table and obviously avoid the crackers, and dip. Yes, you can have a few small pieces of cheese, but control the amount. Carrots, zucchini, broccoli and peppers are usually a staple at these things, so fill up here first.

Never miss workouts!

This is the biggest mistake you can make. If you are eating worse than normal AND missing workouts, you are basically dumping salt into a wound. This is the time that you should be working out more. You need to burn even more calories, and if you are missing workouts, the extra you consume goes right to the waistline. Consider this a double negative, and if you do this, the pounds will accumulate even faster. The only upside to bad eating is that your muscles are full of glycogen, and you will get a great pump when you do workout. So make the effort to get to the gym. There is no excuse to miss workouts at Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, seeing as we run 12-14 thirty-minute sessions here daily.

There you go folks. A few simple tricks where you can go out and enjoy yourselves, limit the calorie consumption and weight gain, and not feel like a social outcast because you are on a fitness routine. Follow these simple tricks wherever you go this holiday season - be safe and enjoy.

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years. He is the owner of Fitness Profiles, a one on one, and small group personal training company, as well as Providence Fit Body Boot Camp, located at 1284 North Main St., on the Providence/Pawtucket line. You can reach Matt at (401) 453-3200; on Facebook at "Matt Espeut", and on Twitter at @MattEspeut. "We’re all in this life together – let’s make it a healthy one!

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Fooducate

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