Avoiding the Holiday Weight Gain

Ah the holidays. A happy time filled with family, watching ‘Home Alone’ while sipping hot cocoa on your couch. It’s also a time that can be stressful. Frantically running from store to store, finding last minute ingredients to prepare meals for your family gatherings. Or maybe you’re traveling so you have to deal with getting to and from the airport, avoiding traffic, and figuring out what to pack. And diet and exercise? Forget about it! Those things are your last priorities right? Well time to pump the brakes. Those things should actually be at the top of your priority list! If you can’t take care of yourself, how can you take care of anyone else? I know, I’m preaching to the choir. But instead of ignoring these issues or throwing a pity party, let’s be proactive and figure out how to equip you with the tools you need. Use the strategies below to maintain sanity, health, and guilt-free living during the holiday season.

Exercise

weight lifting — Photo by Victor Freitas from Pexels

Finding ways to incorporate exercise into your life, is as crucial as anything else especially during the holidays. It will help lower stress levels, and subsequently levels of cortisol (which break down your muscle, and can weaken your immune system), help you burn off some of those calories, but most of all keep you motivated!

You can come up with an excuse like “oh the gym closed early today” or the infamous “I don’t have time.” But that won’t fly here. Something as simple as a few 10-20 minute walks can make the world of a difference, especially if used strategically.

Walking

Has been shown to decrease post-prandial blood glucose, meaning that it can help you avoid that debilitating food coma that renders us useless for the day. Try a 10 minute walk before or after a big meal.

Resistance training

also makes us more insulin sensitive which can help shuttle a large bolus of glucose into our muscle cells, instead of fat cells. I enjoy doing a short bout of exercise prior to my Thanksgiving meal, key word being “enjoy.” I don’t encourage using exercise as a punishment or reward per se, but knowing the physiological effects from exercise can serve as a bonus. As for the time or gym thing, you can do a simple 20-30 minute bout from the comfort of your home, using only your bodyweight, or if you have any hand held weights all the better! Give the routine down below a shot.

Time-Restricted Feeding

I’m sure you’ve heard of intermittent fasting (IF) by now. Time-restricted feeding and IF are sometimes used interchangeably, but it’s the concept of reducing your feeding window throughout the day. Instead of just eating at will, you choose a starting point and an end point.

This helps you prevent uncontrolled eating. Start with a 12-hour window. If you consume your first calories of the day at 8am, you have until 8pm to consume your last. Shortening the window seems to reap more benefits, so you can also try 8 and 10-hour windows.

The science surrounding this method of eating is still emerging, but you don’t need to know all the physiology to utilize this simple and effective strategy.

Nutrient Density

healthy food — Photo by Kaboompics .com from Pexels

Exercising and practicing time-restricted feeding are great strategies for combating that holiday weight gain, but that doesn’t mean you are free to binge on snickerdoodles, brownies, and pumpkin pie. Focus on consuming high quality foods MOST of your meals, and avoid snacking on these treats throughout the day. Start your meals off with nutrient-dense foods such as the ones below. These will fill you up, which will make you less inclined to overeat those nutrient-poor, calorie-rich foods.

Consume foods high in protein: grass-fed beef, free range chicken, free range eggs, greek yogurt, hemp hearts, pea protein
Healthy fats: avocados, walnuts, pistachios, macademia nuts
Fiber from cruciferous vegetables
Drink plenty of water

SPECIAL TIP:

Utilize cinnamon, and/or apple cider vinegar

Consuming cinnamon and/or apple cider vinegar prior to a meal, can help normalize blood glucose levels after a meal and reduce large insulin spikes.

Cinnamon, particularly of the Ceylon variety, has even been shown to:

Increase cognitive function
Decrease cardiovascular disease by lowering LDL levels in blood

Apple cider vinegar

Stimulates digestion
Can help curb your hunger

4. Stress and Sleep

We often think of these as separate entities, but they actually affect each other so much. The more stressed you are, the lower quality of sleep you’ll have. The less you sleep or the lower quality your sleep, the more stressed you’ll be.

I just wrote an article about the gut microbiome, and not only can stress make us eat more, it can actually alter our microbiome which can affect our metabolism, difficulty of weight loss, and squander our efforts to avoid the holiday weight gain.

Again the holidays are a fun time, and one or two days of going to bed late might not make too big of a difference, but try to keep a regular schedule.

Avoid sleeping in too long, as this can throw off your circadian rhythm
Avoid eating large meals too late at night
Take short naps 20-30 minutes if you didn’t get great sleep the night prior
Avoid consuming excessive amounts of alcohol at night
Exercise (reduces stress AND increases sleep quality)

Mindfulness and Gratitude

Enjoy the moment. Enjoy your food. But most of all enjoy your company. Food is amazing not only because of how they make us feel, but also because they bring people together. Focus on good conversation, and making memories with your loved ones as opposed to how many plates you can put away. Appreciate your food, savor each bite, and give gratitude for being able to share those moments in the comfort of your home with the ones you love.

Enjoy the holiday season

You don’t have to spend hours in the gym. You don’t have to sacrifice eating your Aunt’s famous double fudge brownies, peach cobbler, or whatever other food-coma inducing goodness will be thrown your way. And you don’t necessarily have to maintain a strict diet during the holidays.

However, you have to do SOMETHING. Keep moving, try an intermittent fast, get more sleep, go for a walk or two outside. Instead of letting your health slide for the last two months of the year, then starting back up with a New Year’s resolution, we can stay on top of our game and THRIVE.

I’m also running a Holiday Fitness challenge helping you stay on track with your goals, and avoid the holiday weight gain. Message me if you’re interested, but otherwise thanks for reading and feel free to share this if you think it’ll help someone else.

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Stressed Out!

rock

We hear it all the time. “I’m so stressed out.” “Yeah it’s been a stressful day.” “That’s stressing me out.”

Well how often do you actively do something to get rid of that stress?

Stress carries a negative connotation, but actually some stress is good! That’s how your body adapts to things. Want to build more muscle? Your body needs a stressor, ie lifting weights. Want to learn more? Your brain needs a stressor, such as reading.

However, the other thing about stress, is that it’s cumulative. Meaning that your body can’t necessarily distinguish being a “good” stress, and a “bad” stress. After a certain point all the stress you’ve placed on your body can affect your sleep, your mood, even weight loss!

The list below is not by any means all inclusive, but it is geared at optimizing not only your mental well-being, but your emotional well-being as well. If at any point you think to yourself, “hmm, I don’t know about this Jules, that’s weird.” It’s okay, you’re outside of your comfort zone. Which is the best place to learn, and grow.

Work on your Breathing

There’s a reason why I listed breathing first. Breathing is so underrated, and underappreciated, yet it is such a crucial factor in everything we do. Want to run for longer? Learn how to breathe. Want to lift heavier weights? Learn how to breathe. Want to destress after a long day? Learn how to breathe. I could write an entire post on breathing (and probably will in the future), but here are a few breathing techniques appropriate for various situations.

To get rid of tiredness or sluggishness:

Breathe in through nose for 4 seconds feeling your stomach expand, breathe out forcefully through your mouth. Your exhale should imitate blowing out a candle. Do this 10-15 times

In moments of high stress or anxiety:

Inhale for 6 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, and slowly exhale for 10 seconds.

Breathe through your nose, into your stomach, feeling your belly expand like a balloon. Also exhale through nose. If you put your hands on your belly you should feel it rise and fall with your breath. Do this for 10-15 breaths.

These are just two of many different breathing techniques that could serve you in life. In general, try breathing through your nose as often as you can, there are many benefits to doing so. The book “The Oxygen Advantage” by Patrick McKeown is a great read that dives deeply into optimal breathing for sports performance, as well health.

Doing yoga, qi gong, or tai chi, are other great options as they typically are very focused on being mindful of your breathing.

Meditation Practice

meditation

Chronic stress is rampant in our society. Our minds are constantly racing. Worried about what’s going on tomorrow, the day after, the email you sent to your boss, the text you sent to your significant other, the bills that are due at the end of the month, there no end to the barrage. Now I know meditation has certain connotations. I’m not asking you to become a Buddhist monk, there are many types of meditation. It can be as simple taking a minute or two before going to bed, to just unwind. It can be difficult to just sit in silence and NOT think. But there are many benefits to doing so.

The benefits of meditation include:

Reducing stress
Enhancing mood
Increasing happiness
Increasing focus

Those are just skimming the surface. One study even found that meditating helped reduce sensation of pain!

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304394012004806

By the way if you’re an athlete, what usually prevents you from pushing harder? Pain!

Still not convinced? Phil Jackson, one of the greatest coaches of all time, coached Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Ever heard of them? He’s also coached teams to eleven championships. ELEVEN. Surely this man must be extremely high strung right? Actually one of his nicknames, is the “Zen master.” He was known for leading group meditations, as well as his devotion to Zen Buddhism.

Alright so you’re ready to give it a shot now right? Try this:

Close your eyes, and get in comfortable position. Bring awareness to your breath and breathing patterns. Now inhale slowly through your nose for 8 seconds, hold your breath for 4 seconds, and exhale slowly through your nose for 12 seconds. Once again you should be breathing into your stomach, feeling it rise and fall with each breath. Focus on clearing your mind (I know ironic), and let go of any thought that enters your mind.

A simple google search can lead you to all types of meditation practices. In the picture above, I am wearing special headphones from a company called MUSE. The headphones provide neurofeedback by reading your brain waves, in order to help you meditate. You’ll hear a certain sound if you are in a meditative state, and a different sound if you are losing focus. Pretty neat, but also expensive. You can also try the “Headspace” or “Calm” apps which are free guided meditations that you can download to your phone.

Keep a Journal

journal

Similar to meditation, journaling has numerous benefits. Hey fellas, I know your scoffing over there, but this is especially useful for us. Society has conditioned us to think being in touch with our emotions isn’t a masculine trait, but we really have to get over that notion. Emotional intelligence is increasingly becoming regarded as crucial to becoming a leader, more so than your typical IQ in some cases. Journaling can be an outlet for unaddressed emotions, as well as help you get more in tune with your state of mind. Journaling can also help reduce stress, anxiety, and even help you become a better writer!

No matter what you write, you don’t have to share it with the world. Journaling is a great way to reflect, and unwind after a long day.

Try this:

At the end of your day before going to bed, write a brief summary of anything notable that happened throughout your day. Start with a short paragraph, increasing the length and detail over time. At the end of your entry, write down one thing you learned that day, and one thing you’re grateful for.

Proper Nutrition and Supplementation

green tea

I’ve talked about adaptogens in a previous post (see Mushrooms). Adaptogens are natural or herbal foods that are energizing and contain stress reducing properties. In certain cases adaptogens can be appropriate in supplementing your diet. Keyword, SUPPLEMENTING. Meaning that a diet rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, greens, and proper macronutrients is necessary in optimizing health. That said, the compounds below are among popular and efficacious adaptogens. These can help bring energy up if its too low, or if you’re too stressed, helps bring that back down. Adaptogens can also help regulate sleep cycle, and support your nervous system.

Ashwagandha– Reduces cortisol levels, reduces anxiety, boosts immune system, increases energy levels

Rhodiola- Reduces cortisol, reduces fatigue, fights depression, increases energy

L-Theanine– (found in green tea) helps with focus, stress, increases alpha brain waves

Giving gratitude

Think of 5 things you’re grateful for. Now think of 5 things that annoy you. Which list filled faster?

The fact is, we go through our days and we forget to appreciate the small intricacies of life. We start taking things for granted. Now imagine if those things that annoy you didn’t have the impact on your life anymore. How much happier would you be? Giving gratitude can have a major effect on our lives. Here are a few of the benefits.

Improved mental health
Reduced anxiety, stress, and depression
Improved sleep
Increase in dopamine
Increased determination and enthusiasm

This might be the easiest of all to incorporate into your daily regime. Literally all it takes is a thought. You can do this as soon as you wake up, before you go to bed, or even throughout the day. It doesn’t have to be something profound either. You can be grateful for the ice cream cone you ate, or for getting a good grade on a test.

Try this: While journaling, think of 2-3 things you’re grateful for and write them down. Alternatively, you can think of something you’re grateful for as soon as you wake up.

Just as running, or lifting weights, or riding a bike improves our physical health, there are exercises we can utilize to improve our mental health. By now I’m sure you see a trend in all the aforementioned topics. You don’t need to adopt all of them, and maybe you feel like you’re doing fine without any of them. Whatever the case, do what makes you happy. Get a massage, do some yoga, watch Rick & Morty for a couple hours. Nourish the mind, and the body will be grateful in return.