With all the silly season festivities behind us now, we can now concentrate on kick-starting the New Year. Whether you need motivation to reactivate or begin your health goals, we have gathered experts within the industry to give you their best advice to help guide you to your best year yet.
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Your Social Events
Nicola Miethke, Clinical Nutritionist, Naturopath and Expert for Nuzest suggests that if your social calendar is absolutely jam-packed, then pick and choose one or two events you are going to indulge at and be very clear about which ones you are going to stick to the foods and drinks that will support your health goals. Most importantly, don’t let yourself feel guilty about enjoying yourself. Make conscious, mindful decisions that feel right for your body and own them!
Move in the morning
Sam Wood, Founder of 28bySamWood says to try to get your workout done in the morning. Even if it is just 15 minutes, something is better than nothing. A quick and effective HIIT session is my pick.
Stick to your routine as much as possible
He also says if you go out on Saturday night and are feeling a little worse than wear on Sunday morning, still make sure you get up for your Monday morning workout. If you stick to your routine as much as possible, you can break even during this period. Breaking even is a success.
Be comfortable saying no
Melissa Fine, GoodnessMe Box Nutritionist, says peer pressure is most rampant during the silly season. The problem is, succumbing to every plea to have “one more drink” or “another slice of cake” adds up, and can really derail your healthy eating goals. When you’re offered something you don’t want, politely and firmly say, “It looks great, but no, thanks.” Don’t worry about offending people; health comes first and if your friends, family and colleagues support you, they’ll understand. While it’s not realistic to maintain your entire healthy routine in the lead-up to the holidays, you can make the best choices with what you’re given.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Adala Bolto, MD of ZADI training suggest to apply a simple approach such as , drinking 2 glasses of water between alcoholic beverages, avoid turning up to a events hungry, skip the appetisers, choose fresh colourful foods that are on offer instead of the sweet, fatty foods such as cakes and pastries and consume more protein options. But if you must have that treat or two , stick to the 80 – 20 rule.
Make your catch ups active
Staying active whist enjoying lighter outdoor activities with family and friends will also help you stick to your health goals, go swimming, enjoy walks or go on a bike ride instead of staying indoors. These activities will help you relax and enjoy the things you might not normally have time for, we can all do with some variety in our lives and no, exercise doesn’t always have to be big sweat sesh to be effective.