Holiday party season is once again upon us and if you’re not careful, another event full of yuletide cheer might just throw off the diet you’ve been trying so hard to keep on track.
Free-flowing alcohol, high stress and unlimited food can make these events challenging, but there is hope.
Read on to see how to navigate this time of year with your waistline and your sanity intact
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In the group, we share tons of tips and resources to help busy professionals take control of their fitness so they can win at work and at home.
Inside you’ll find the exact process we’ve used to help dozens of working professionals drop years of weight gain while getting back their energy and confidence.
During the holiday season from Thanksgiving to new years perfect storm of health threats arise.
The added stress of work deadlines and gift buy limits time for getting to the gym and making good decisions with food.
Then the change in the season and sunlight exposure can lead to decreased mood and energy.
And finally, seemingly endless holiday parties and family gatherings seem to arise when your willpower is all but depleted.
The result?
Many people who try and handle the holidays without support end up gain several unwanted pounds that they then have to take off in the new year.
But it doesn’t have to be this way!
Our clients at Virtuo actually often end up losing weight during the holidays just by following the guidelines listed below that are overseen by their personal coach.
Check out the 5 tips we coach our clients on below…
Here are our top 5 tips for surviving the holiday party season
- Plan / eat ahead – If you know you have a party coming up then try to plan ahead with your meals. This can mean scoping out the menu if you’re headed to a restaurant and picking the item that best fits your goals. If you know that you might have some food outside your normal plan at the party then plan to eat lighter throughout the day. If you’re concerned about going off the deep end, then plan ahead prior to going to the party and stick to a few drinks while you’re there.
- Limit your drinks – Alcohol lowers inhibitions and can lead to bad food choices, so we suggest sticking to no more than 2 drinks at these types of events. Besides being 7 calories per gram, alcohol can have a negative impact on your decision-making when it comes to food and comments to your boss, so do your diet and your employment status a favor and stick to only a few drinks.
- Eat and mingle like a human – Standing next to the buffet table stuffing your face is never a good look, especially around the people you have to face the next day at work. We suggest the “first date approach,” when it comes to eating at these type of events. Make sure to eat slowly, engage in conversation and focus on the things going on at the party that aren’t food. Eating slowly will allow you to start feeling full and showing off your manners might actually impress that coworker you’ve been looking to take on a date.
- Stick to the one plate rule – Our guess is that you wouldn’t put down 3 plates of food when at home, so why does it become acceptable when in public? We understand that the unlimited supply of holiday goodies can be tempting, but stay on track by limiting yourself to a regular serving. When in doubt, use the hand measuring method to estimate portions on your plate. (A palm sized serving of protein, a fist sized serving of carbs and 1-2 first sized servings of veggies)
- Have some of the good stuff – We suggest indulging without overindulging. We’ve found with our most successful weight loss clients that it’s important to eat foods that they enjoy in moderation. So at the party have a cookie but don’t have 5, and have some pizza, but don’t eat the whole pie. It’s OK to eat things you wouldn’t normally include in your diet, just don’t let things run wild.
Sticking to these simple-to-follow tips will go a long way to ensuring that your diet doesn’t take a nosedive this holiday season.
But if you’re afraid going alone is going to end in disaster, here’s what you need to do.
Book a no-sweat consultation with one of our coaches by clicking here.
In one hour we will break down exactly how you’ve been sabotaging yourself for years (It’s not your fault) and the exact steps you need to take to shed lbs., get your energy back and build confidence in your body.
For the record, this is not a sales meeting.
At Virtuo we believe that information should be free.
If at the end of the session you’re interested to hear what it likes to work with us and we feel like you’d qualify for our program, we’re happy to share.
But if you got what you needed then we’re happy to help and as the name implies, there’s no sweat and nothing salsey.
In case you’re interested I’ll leave that link for again for you right here.
Happy Holidays!
– Brandon