You
know you're going to do it. You know you want
to do it. It's what makes the holidays the holidays.
What is it? Eating piles of holiday food.
This
article is not about how to minimize holiday
weight gain. That topic has been addressed many
times before and will no doubt be addressed
many more times to come. What I'm talking about
here is how to use your increased holiday eating
to your advantage in your training.
For
many trainers (myself included), it's just no
fun being good at the buffet table all the time.
It's very easy to take the joy out of the holidays
by restricting yourself too much.
I
propose something different. Rather than forcing
yourself to eat plain potatoes and dry turkey
when your whole family is sitting down to a
big holiday dinner, join in. I'm going to tell
you how to make it work for you, not against
you.
#1 - Forgive yourself in advance
If
you're the type who feels guilty when you eat
foods that aren't the greatest for you, try
to set that aside. This is going to be a positive,
guilt-free experience.
#2
- Reduce your calories BEFORE your big meals
By
reducing your caloric intake before the big
meals, it's much more likely that your body
will use those excess calories to rebuild depleted
stores rather than add to the ones that are
already there. Don't starve yourself or your
body will panic and try to store everything
it gets as fat - just reduce.
#3
- Do a hard, heavy workout as close to mealtime
as you can
Immediately
after a hard workout, your body is desperate
for raw materials to rebuild with. This effect
lasts for about 3 to 4 hours. During this time,
your body is primed for muscle growth. By doing
your workout just before a big holiday dinner,
all that food is going to go towards helping
your body rebuild and recover from the workout.
Very little, if any, of the excess calories
you eat will be stored as fat under these conditions.
#4
- Try to focus on foods with some nutritional
value
Feel
free to load your plate with turkey and mashed
potatoes. These foods have a great deal of nutritional
value to a trainer. Don't hold back on them.
#5
- Increase your training volume
What
this basically means is do more sets for each
muscle group. You may have to decrease your
rest periods or perhaps increase the number
of training sessions you do in order to increase
the volume but doing more sets (at least temporarily)
will give your metabolism a kick-start. It will
be especially effective if you're doing a fairly
low volume training program before switching.
Your body will be desperate for food to rebuild
with and a big holiday meal is just what the
doctor ordered.
#6
- Don't go to sleep after you eat
I
know it's going to be hard but you're better
off not napping after a big holiday meal. If
you sleep, your body is more likely to store
excess calories as fat, not muscle. It will
also slow your metabolism down and you'll digest
your food a lot slower. Relax, but if you can
help it, don't sleep right away.
#7
- Schedule another heavy workout for the day
after a big holiday meal
After
loading yourself up with carbs, fat and protein,
your body is a nutrient-filled growth machine.
Take advantage of your loading by doing another
high-volume, heavy workout the day after.
#8
- Take all the leftovers people are willing
to give you
Stick
to the more nutritious foods when you do this,
such as meat, potatoes and vegetables. It beats
cooking big meals for yourself for the next
three days.
#9
- If you bring home desserts, save them for
post-workout meals
Like
I mentioned before, your body is primed for
growth after a workout. Most desserts are filled
with sugar. After a workout, your body will
suck up this sugar just like any other carb
and not store it as fat. In fact, it will increase
your insulin levels and help you store protein
in your muscles!
Putting these tips to work won't necessarily
mean you won't gain some fat over the holidays
but they can certainly help to minimize fat
gain and maximize your muscle mass gains. Putting
your overeating to work for you may not be pretty
but it can be very effective!
