During the month of December, let’s face it, we eat more.  It is estimated that we can gain up to 5 pounds in this month alone! This is unhealthy weight we do NOT want to carry! 

When we arrive at a work party or attend get-togethers, we tell ourselves,

“Okay, I’m not going to eat very much.”

“I’m going to practice portion control.”

“I will only have 2 drinks.”

“I’ll drink water before I go to all these events to keep me full.”

Then as soon as we get there, we smell the food, we see the buffet table and then, without knowing it – once again – it all falls apart.  We fall back to mindless eating, failed willpower, then within hours that dreaded belly bloat.

I’m telling you now, you can prevent that.

And no, you don’t have to give up any of the foods you enjoy.  You can use some of your favorite dishes to kick start your fat burning potential… just by tricking your body to boosting metabolism. How?

Strategic Scheduled Cheating

I don’t ever want to see individuals take all the hard work they put into losing fat, building healthy eating habits and developing a more positive mindset in the year to throw it all away during the December holiday season.

There are clearly triggers and a high stress component to weight gain during the holidays that contribute to belly fat gain.

Sometimes, these experiences can be hard to minimize. But, we do have control over our decisions and oftentimes, it is not knowing how to change learned habits over the holidays that lead to failure.

So here is your recommended action plan:

Within 24 hours of Event Time:  Workout with Heavy Weights

Create an environment in your body that is ready to burn fat instead of store it.  You want to have your muscles starved for food instead of storing what you eat as fat. When you eat after a hard earned workout, that fuel is feeding your depleted muscles instead of hanging around your waist.

Regardless, if you’re obese or you’re lean, you will burn more energy doing high intensity exercises versus low intensity exercise.

At the Event:  Fill Your Plate with Protein First 

When you approach a dinner table you’ll see seafood, you’ll see turkey and you’ll see chicken.  Feast on these protein sources first until you’re full.  Remember here, I said full, not stuffed. What that does is, by nature, protein is very filling and it takes up a lot of energy to digest protein.

In some studies, it’s been shown that by eating protein first, you can increase your metabolic rate by up to 30 percent and that’s pretty much like a two mile jog that you’re already burning off just by eating protein because your body’s working so hard to break that down.

While Eating:  Chew Slow

With every bite of food, aim to chew 20 times before you swallow.  There are many benefits to chewing slow.  It gives your body that time to be able to say,

“Okay, why am I still hungry?”

“Do I still want to eat this food?”

So you end up eating less because you signal your brain to slow down.

Another benefit is that it helps you digest and absorb nutrients efficiently. Protein digestion starts in the stomach so when you chew slow, you give your stomach the time to produce enough acid to break it down and use for muscle building.

While Drinking:  Monitor Alcohol Intake

This is probably one of the biggest reasons why we enjoy going to different places to socialize- we get to drink with friends and enjoy ourselves.

When we drink alcohol, what it does though, is create a hormonal environment in your body that’s very conducive to fat storage.

Beer is probably the worst one you can consume because it has such a high insulin response. They don’t call that a beer belly for nothing! So if you can avoid beer, great! If not, then alternate between a beer and a water or soda water.

If you are drinking, finish that drink before having another and note how many you are consuming.  Have a glass of water in between.  Say no to the double fisting!

You also want to avoid different types of alcohol.

The “better” option is red wine. There are some benefits to consuming red wine and it doesn’t have such a high glycemic load on your body.

There’s nothing wrong with drinking but it’s when and how you’re going to drink.

Food and drinks are a social experience but that should not be your focus, especially when your goal is health and wellness. You want to stop hanging around at the dinner table, stop taking a look at the foods there and start spending time catching up and meeting new people.

It’s best to share what the year has brought us and look for opportunities and experiences to try different things for the year ahead. So as much as we say that food is a huge component to the holiday season, we go to these functions because we want to spend time with friends and family.

So essentially, follow the strategic scheduled cheating plan every time you have a holiday event to attend, stay away from the dinner table as much as possible and use that time to network, socialize and connect with loved ones and plan for an amazing new year ahead.

Want A Complete Guide on How to Stay Fit During the Holiday Season? 

Learn how to deal with “food pushers”, my 2 headed strategy when eating out at restaurants and more.  (yes, send me the guide!!)