A Simple Approach for Your Holiday Eating: Have You Been Naughty or Nice?

I'm a believer in rewarding yourself with simple indulgences, especially if you are already following exactly what I want you to do. However, as human beings we sometimes tend to fall off the wagon from minor slip ups to (what might seem like) big falls off.
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I'm a believer in rewarding yourself with simple indulgences, especially if you are already following exactly what I want you to do. However, as human beings we sometimes tend to fall off the wagon from minor slip ups to (what might seem like) big falls off. My question to you is:

Have you been naughty or nice throughout this holiday season so far?

IF YOU'VE BEEN NAUGHTY
If you've been naughty since just before Thanksgiving, I want you to take an approach these next few weeks that really focuses on keeping it together. Here are some simple bullet points that I want you to do day in and day out.

Don't go in hungry
We seem to have a tendency to collapse with our nutrition when we're really hungry. The misconception with a long term and sustainable diet would be to limit calories when in reality; People need to eat more frequently. This should not be to the point of overeating, but to where you're feeling full. If you do this day in and day out, you will notice less cravings, and that is half the battle.

Stay hydrated
Water is such a vital component in keeping things moving throughout your system. During the holiday season, there's also the tendency to drink alcohol, which places even more of an emphasis on the need for water consumption. Two easy points to up your water intake: Drink 16 ounces of water upon rising in the morning, then at night if you're out for holiday cocktails, separate each drink with a glass of water.

Exercise Now
Enough with "I'm going to start in the New Year." Get a kick on the new year now. If you're fighting cravings and falling into the traps of the holiday parties, we need to be getting our sweat on to get the bad out and the good in. I want you to spend, at the very least, 10 minutes a day doing something to break a sweat. By all means, if you are a workout fanatic, now's the time to get after it more than ever.

IF YOU'VE BEEN NICE
This one is for those of you who have been diligent with your workouts and sticking to proper nutrition. When that holiday party at that terrific restaurant comes along, I want you to enjoy yourself. Eat what you want, but before going in do two things for me:

Before your splurge...
An hour and a half to two hours before your splurge, eat a protein with a vegetable and drink a lot of water. This is going to maintain your blood sugar levels so when you go in to that holiday splurge, you can enjoy without the temptation of eating like you're about to go to the electric chair.

Around your cheat day...
Continue working out which is something I probably don't even need to mention to you since you've been so good this holiday season. This is going to spike your metabolism which will prep you to burn your splurge.

There is a fine line between enjoying yourself and waking up the next day feeling like complete garbage.

Trust me, I have been there a lot. At a certain point you keep saying to yourself, "Why did I do that?" Go in, live and have some fun, but also realize that there's a point where you're going to be kicking yourself for the next few days if you have that fourth piece of apple pie. Happy Holidays everyone!

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