How to Maintain Gains and THRIVE Throughout the Holiday Season

The holidays are here which means loads of parties loaded with delicious foods and copious amounts of alcohol.

Now, I want you to enjoy yourself through the holiday season by staying present, practice mindful eating and moderation with the foods and drinks you like and enjoy the most.

However, if losing body fat is your number one goal, you want to avoid going overboard.

Here I share my biggest tips to staying “on track” at these parties.

For food:

Skip the bread basket and/or chips

Opt for shrimp cocktail, deli meats or cheese if you’re feeling tempted or noshy at said party

Load up on the protein

If you know you’re going to a party at night, have a breakfast and/or lunch high in protein! Keep it light and simple so you can mindfully indulge later without guilt. Avoid foods that are fried or sound heavily dressed in creamy sauces. Stay away from those extra calories by avoiding the creamy, cheesy sauces.

Eat mindfully and slowly

Make sure you sit down to eat your meals and savor the taste, smell and texture of your food. Put your fork down between bites and take your time while eating. Stay present!

Share dessert

If you want dessert, instead of having an entire serving to yourself, consider sharing it with someone.

For alcohol consumption:

Limit carbs

Limit carb the day you know you’ll be drinking. Get all carbs from veggies and the tag-along carbs in some protein sources. On the day you know you’ll be drinking, base your meals around protein and good fats.⠀⠀

Stick to hard liquor

Yes, stick to the hard liquors and skip the sugary mixers while drinking; i.e tequila/vodka/gin and club soda. Lime juice is always a good way to improve taste in drinks without adding calories. ⠀⠀

Hydrate!!

Alternate your drink with a glass of water so you don’t wake up with a killer hangover and so you can effectively pace yourself throughout the night.

However, if you do happen to wake up feeling terrible, there are options for recovery, such as getting an at-home IV drip in NYC. These IV drips can help replenish the fluids and nutrients lost from drinking and alleviate hangover symptoms, allowing you to get back to feeling like yourself in no time.

Look, I know good parties happen so if you do wind up indulging and you wake up feeling pretty cruddy, you should know that there are options for recovery, such as getting an at-home IV drip (if you happen to live in NYC.) These IV drips from Drip Hydration can help replenish the fluids and nutrients lost from drinking and alleviate hangover symptoms, allowing you to get back to feeling like yourself in no time. Check them out if you’re in the NYC area! ⠀

Plan your drinking

Know when you will be drinking, as staying on your weight loss journey will be impossible with frequent spur of the moment brunches & bar hops. ⠀⠀

Try to limit drinking to once a week at most especially if your number one goal is to lose body fat during this time of year.

For workouts:

Strength train 3-4x a week

Strength training is one of the best ways to change your body and maintain progress because it helps keep your body's natural metabolism high by maintaining muscle while burning fat. Even if you find yourself traveling this holiday season, keep in mind just getting two strength sessions in is enough to maintain progress.

Work cardio into your day

Instead of taking the bus to work or the elevator up from the train, opt for walking or the stairs. It’s amazing how much more movement we can incorporate into our day just by making slight changes throughout our day.

Follow a progressive strength training program

Doing classes is fun and is a great way to burn calories, but the reality is if you want to build muscle and MAINTAIN it, then following a progressive routine leading up to the holiday season and throughout is key. Following a progressive strength program allows for tangible changes and progressions throughout the year and if you continue to work to overload your muscles during a busy holiday season, the chances of you losing progress are a lot less than mindlessly spinning your wheels in random classes. Remember, work smarter, not harder!

Remember you WILL miss workouts, and it’s not the end of the world.

The holiday season only comes around once a year. It can be hectic and stressful which is why I like to remind people that although it’s important to prioritize exercise, the likelihood of you missing workouts due to travel, family time and generally just being off your routine is high. It’s important not to beat yourself up about it! All you need to do is keep in mind you just need a couple of days of working out a week to maintain progress. But even if you can’t get that in, having a week or two completely off from the gym won’t derail progress in the long run. What matters most is how quickly you get right back up on the horse and get back to work.

Keep in mind It’s what we do most of the time that matters most throughout the year, not what we do sometimes.