My answer to this is to simply enjoy it! Factor a holiday or break such as christmas into your training and nutrition plan. Look to train consistently up to this period and then take a rest for these few days. The same applies with your food intake. If you keep everything as tight as possible before potentially feasting on all that the festive period offers, then your body will tend to deal with this without too many long-term adverse affects on your objectives.
Try the following tips leading up to the big day to keep the impact low but your enjoyment high:
- Train with weights leading up until Christmas day. When you lift weights your metabolism is lifted for hours afterwards. Also, when you have muscular soreness, your body will use the food/calories you eat to help with muscle repair. Have a tough session Christmas Eve and put the food you eat to good use on Christmas day!
- Keep Carbs low on the days leading up to Christmas. Look to eat plenty of lean meats, fish, eggs, veggies, nuts, seeds and drink plenty of water.
- Drink plenty of water on Christmas Day
- Drink plenty of green tea on Christmas Day
- Eat protein Christmas morning. This will get the fat burning hormones started. Scrambled eggs and smoked salmon would be great!
- Have a pre-lunch 'mini-workout'. Try 20 bodyweight squats, 15 pushups and a 30-45 second skydiver (lay on your front and squeeze shoulder blades together, holding this position). This should allow plenty of carbs to be sent to the working muscles before the fat cells!
Merry Christmas!
