Cheating Through The Holidays

By Amanda Adams-Welligee Coach

It is that time of year again. The temperatures are dropping, the holiday music is pumping, the department stores are buzzing, and the clothes are feeling a little bit snug. Wait, what?

For most of us, the holidays are a time where family, near and far, come together around a common household object, a table. For those trying to stay on track with health and fitness goals, this can create a little bit of a hurdle to staying on pace with the work they have put in thus far. This does not need to be the case! We can still enjoy every aspect of the holidays without feeling as though we are throwing in the towel on our diet and fitness.

Enter the concept of a “cheat day”. Let me say that again. Cheat DAY. Not cheat week, month, or season. Those that are solid with their diet, keeping it clean six days of the week, have earned themselves one day of the week to let their inhibitions down and give in to what they consistently turn away. Cheat days are very effective when planned ahead of time to maintain order and avoid spur of the moment decisions that may land you more cheats than originally intended. These can occur on the same day of the week (i.e., Wednesday is my cheat day) or based on a scheduled event (i.e., company Christmas party is on Friday, so that will be my cheat day).

I know there are some skeptics out there that think getting to eat whatever they want for one day without hindering their progress sounds too good to be true. I must emphasize the need to stay clean every other day of the week, not make little cheats here and there and then go hard on the seventh day, expecting a positive result. For those that need a little more evidence to back it up, think of it this way: Once in awhile, the body can use a little reboot to its metabolism, especially when going through a tough training regimen. During a cheat meal, abundant macronutrients will refill stores that can become depleted through dieting and increased training. In addition, it mentally gives the individual something to look forward to during the clean days. It is important that the individual does not feel the guilt that one bad day has thrown off their hard work and fall into a downward spiral from there.

So, let’s crank the holiday music back up and relate the cheat day back to this ever-so-tempting time of year. It may seem simple now to think, hey, I will just use my cheat day as the day of the holiday and I shouldn’t have any problems. My answer to this? YES! Go for it! However, I have to be the bearer of bad news in reminding you that rarely does the holiday actually last for a strict 24 hours. Offices are filled with homemade goodies for weeks on end, leftovers from family gatherings pack the fridge, and any holiday event that takes place outside is usually completed with a cup of hot chocolate in hand. Instill the concept of the cheat day and once you have fulfilled that cheat, use your mental toughness to turn it away the remaining days, knowing that another cheat day lies in your near future. It does take a good amount of self-control, but guess what else did? All of your hard work up to this point! Do not view the holiday season as a roadblock to your goals, rather, see it as an opportunity to reflect on the hard work you have put in this past year and will only improve upon in the year to come.

If you have more questions feel free to contact us at welligee@welligee.com

http://www.welligee.com