Thriving over the festive period
During the month of December, it can be easy to get distracted from our training goals when there are lots of festive temptations around us.
Top Tips for the festive period
Here are some top nutrition tips to ensure that you continue to work successfully on your training goals whilst enjoying yourself too.
1. First off, December is a season to have fun! I don’t recommend ‘dieting’ (unless you are working towards a particular sporting event) but I do recommend working towards a maintenance goal instead. Be realistic and make your goals for December achievable.
2. Ensure you fuel your body with sufficient protein at each meal. Protein is important for muscle protein synthesis but essential for so much more, including bones, hormones, enzymes, immunity. Although this is dependent on body weight, as a general rulewhen training you want at least to have 1g per kg of body weight. For a 60kg individual eating 3 meals per day, you should be aiming for 20g of protein per meal. Protein sources include meat, fish, eggs, legumes, lentils, beans, soya, protein smoothie.
3. Prioritise your training classes. Even though there may be opportunities to go out more and attend social events, these should not be to the detriment of your training. If you miss a training window, try to reschedule it. This is important if you are working on particular goals. If you are not, then you can be a little more relaxed about missing the odd few sessions.
4. Hydrate effectively – I discussed last week about the importance of hydration for training. With regards to this time of year, there are many more temptations and the cold weather can make it hard to want to drink water. Remember though that training hydrated will enable your workout to be more effective.
5. Make good alcohol choices. Any amount of alcohol will act as a toxin in your body, making you feel tired and reducing your immunity. I do not recommend exercising after a festive lunchtime drink. Your strength, balance, recovery, concentration will all be affected. You are more likely to be dehydrated which will reduce muscle recovery. If you do drink alcohol, avoid creamy or sweet drinks. Always drink with food to reduce the impact of alcohol and its sugary component on your blood stream. Always aim for at least two alcohol-free days a week whether you are training or not to allow your liver and body to recover.
6. Avoid partying on an empty stomach. If you go out after a training session and you have not refuelled properly, you are more likely to make unhealthy choices. Even a quick protein smoothie an hour or so before you leave is much more likely to put you in a good place and enable you to resist any temptations that might jeopardise your training goals.
If you want to thrive, not just survive, this December, Melanie has a fabulous Christmas Thrive Guide that you can download for FREE – just click on this link:
The guide is filled with nutrition and lifestyle advice to festively thrive at Christmas and help you feel energised and empowered throughout December. It is jam packed with lots of lovely healthy Christmas recipes and the opportunity to set yourself a personal development plan with goals for this Christmas. There is also additional advice on how to healthily eat out this December.
Melanie Flood Nutrition
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