As we see the darker mornings and evenings and the air temperature drops it’s almost a signal of the upcoming festivities!

In October we buy more lamps, throws, rugs and candles. Sales of soup increase! We almost have a hibernating instinct. Christmas starts to dominate our thoughts. Our steps and movement often start to decline.

Our social events actually start to increase!

This is where the temptation to ‘leave it until January’ kicks in. This is what I refer to as ‘the bucket’. Chucking it in the ‘F***it bucket’ until January is what lots of people do. It’s a cycle that I did for years.

The best way to navigate this is to look at what you CAN do in a month, two months and three months.

You can gain a lot of mental health benefits from 4 weeks of gym visits. Improved muscle mass and better sleep are gifts that come quickly.

You gain confidence and routine and get ahead of the January rush. I always do better with my fitness in October and November. I don’t like conforming to the mass media marketing machine that tells me to chuck it until January.

There will always be holidays, social events and weather. There is never a good time when the diary is clear. A healthy lifestyle is not a diet plan, it’s not a quick fix program. Navigating life making healthy choices is not ‘all or nothing’. It’s what you do consistently 80% of the time that makes a difference. The weekend away does not wreck your progress, it’s the reaction to it and what you do next that determines your success towards your health and fitness goals.

Holidays, nights out, weekends away and Christmas are some of the reasons we choose to get fitter, stronger and leaner. Having energy and health and fitness to enjoy ourselves and life is the whole point.

The stamina for the city break and all of the walking. The energy and fitness for the dancing. The health to feel good when meeting up with friends and family. Feeling good in the party outfit.

I am just back from an over indulgent weekend myself.

Here’s the top 5 tips to ensure your weekend doesn’t ruin your progress…

  1. Mindset! You invest in your health and fitness to ensure you can enjoy life. Let any ‘guilt’ go!
  2. Do not stand on the scales. With the change of diet, alcohol, increased salt and sugar and lack of sleep you will have gained scale weight. This is not fat it is usually water retention. You know your scale weight will have increased and if this affects how you feel about yourself then don’t do it! Wait until the end of the week.
  3. Drink lots of water and go to bed a little earlier for the next couple of days. Getting back into a good sleep hygiene routine quickly is helpful. 
  4. Eat protein and return to your normal macros. Do not lower calories or over restrict to try and make up for the weekend. This will lead to over indulgence somewhere by the end of the week. 
  5. Return to the gym and your activity levels. Inputs are what we measure! Go straight back to your routine. 

Weekends away and nights out are all part of life. If however you are doing this every weekend this will equate to 40% of your week and hamper progress. If you are sabotaging your goals every week drop me a message and I will help you navigate it.

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