It is officially ‘that’ time of year again! Christmas parties, family dinners, and new years celebrations! All the fun things that we look forward to every year as we let loose and gear up to ring in another new and exciting year! However, the post effects of the holidays usually bring an unwelcoming feeling! A feeling of over eating guilt paired along side regret. The end result… a few hangovers, 5-10lbs of weight gain and a whole lot of motivation to get back on the wagon! Not this year my friends, I refuse it to be me! Make this year a year for no regrets or guilt, and plan on surviving the holiday season without the weight gain! Here are some tips on how to handle all the stresses and temptations that the holidays bring!

Use the 80/20 rule: 80% of the time stick to clean eating and hard training. Use the other 20% to live a little.

Set a goal and stick to it: Without a goal, there can be no picture to paint and no plan to follow. Set a realistic goal and a plan of attack. Make your full effort with sticking to it! It always pays off!

Load up on good quality h2o: Not only does water keep you fuller longer, it is also a natural diuretic. At times where we drink more alcohol than normal, consume more than normal baking goods, it can’t hurt to flush the body of all the sodium and toxins we ingest. Hello water retention!

Avoid late night eating: An absolute no no! Parties and family occasions can get you eating at later than normal times, so choose the veggies tray, or choose nothing at all! Remember the word ‘willpower.’

It’s a numbers game: Calories in, calories out! If you do the crime with eating extra calories, get prepared to do the time by burning it off in the gym!

BYOT- Bring your own tray! When going to parties, if possible ask to bring the fruit and veggie tray. Use hummus and low fat yogurt for centre dips. You can’t do too much damage with fiber and protein!

Get Active! Get in the gym: Alone or with a workout partner, get yourself into the gym! No excuses! Burn calories, increase your metabolism and stay on track! Not motivated? Try a boot camp or group ex class!

Make time instead of excuses: If you fail to plan, plan to fail. Plan things out, and make the time to get them done!

Let lifting weight with cardio intervals become your new best fat burning friends: Using heavy weights with compound exercises burn major calories. By adding in cardio intervals within the weights workout offers a higher calorie burning effect. For even more calorie burn per exercise, try integrated compound exercises i.e., squat + shoulder press.

Always have your workout gear on hand or in the car: Try to incorporate your workout before, during or after work. That extra trip home makes it twice as hard to get back out of the house when it’s snowing and blowing, dark and cold.

Bring the extra sweets to share with coworkers: Sugary gifts equal extra calories, so try sharing with your workers and spare yourself some extra calories to be burnt off!

Choose only 1 of the sins: It’s going to happen, empty calorie sins presented on serving trays in multiple amounts. Limit yourself to one or none at all! Desert, drinks, or chocolates, not all three! Remember sweets, drinks and sugary treats consume high amounts of sugar… an easy way to weight gain!

Remember it’s ok to slip: We are all human, and definitely not perfect! If you find yourself falling off the wagon, do what it takes to get back on track ASAP.

Invest in the best: Hire a professional! Coaches and nutritionists have all the tools and resources that you will need in order to reach your goals. Everyone can benefit from a good coach!



Emily Stirling
2009 WBFF Figure Pro World Champion