Training and Dieting over Christmas
Staying consistent with training and dieting isn’t the easiest at the best of times, never mind over the Christmas period. As we all know it can be difficult to stick to a diet or make time for training sessions between work parties, family commitments and social events. “I’ll start back up again in January” is something that we hear often and are guilty of saying ourselves but you can keep making progress towards your fitness goals and still enjoy your Christmas!
Keeping your goal in mind - Remembering what you want to achieve with your fitness goals and why, can help reaffirm your goals as a priority and make positive decision making with nutrition as well as blocking out time in your diary for training sessions much easier.
Managing Expectations - It can be easy to be hard on yourself if you’re someone that struggles with consistency but during a period when there’s so much going on it’s important to keep in mind exactly how much is happening and the effects that all has on how achievable your goals are. Setting new short term and crucially realistic goals, with appropriate considerations for this time of year, can help to take the pressure off whilst setting yourself up to achieve your original long term goals after Christmas. For example… “I’ll aim to maintain weight over Christmas so I’m no heavier after the holidays. If I can do that I’ll be a good position to push on and continue losing weight in January”. Allowing yourself a little leniency around this time of year can help make your routine more sustainable and less like a chore.
Support system - During Christmas time we all make decisions that may not line up with our goals but having a support system in place is crucial when looking to achieve anything. Trusting your family and friends with your goals and needs can be hugely beneficial. Allowing them to support you and understand the challenges you may face can help provide some motivation to make a positive decision as well as some accountability to keep you on track.
Naturally, consistency can come and go in waves but using these management strategies we can stay in control of our progress whilst still enjoying the festive period with our friends and family.