How to Get Back On Track After the Holiday Season

The holiday season can become overwhelming and can cause a drastic loss of motivation for anyone, regardless of their fitness level. There are a lot more temptations at work and school, such as potlucks and free treats that are usually not at your disposal during the rest of the year. It is healthy to indulge in some of these treats, in moderation , of course, but do not overdo it and backtrack and lose some of your hard earned progress. As long as you keep up with your gym schedule during this time of year, which can be difficult due to the colder weather and overall sense of wanting to relax during this time of year, you can continue to build muscle but you may gain a bit of body fat. This is normal and don’t feel bad about yourself; it is critical to make your fitness journey a lifestyle and not a “diet” or “fad”. You want to be able to have ups and downs along the way and just enjoy life, with your fitness goals still in mind.

One way that I to get back on track is with a juice cleanse. Scientifically, there really is no need to “cleanse” the body after falling off of your clean eating program because your liver and kidneys naturally cleanse your body/blood of toxins, although there are still some major benefits (Penner, n.d.). The reason I say do this is more so for your mental state; it will get you back in the habit of eating/drinking your greens and micro nutrients and will ultimately, make you want to get back on track again. Of course, there are additional benefits such as clear skin, improved digestion and weight loss.

Also, make a workout schedule for the new year revolving around your fitness goals. I did this and it made me excited all over again to change up the days I worked out and also became clear on the specific exercises I will do in the gym each day. Changing things up and being more clear on what you are doing in the gym will get you re motivated to go kick some butt in the gym! You can actually download Excel spreadsheets, where you can input all of your workouts, how many reps you are doing, how much weight you are using, etc. so you can track when you need to go up in weight or if any changes need to be made to your workouts if you are not seeing any results. You can edit this information in Google so you can easily pull it up in the gym to edit. I linked the spreadsheet I use below.

Also, another step you can take is to research some new, exciting meal prep ideas. Personally, I got really tired of eating chicken, broccoli and rice by the end of the year; I needed a solution to issue and find a broader array of foods. You can read books, find recipes on Pinterest or online platforms, such as Instagram. One book I just purchased that has been extremely helpful is “Fit Men Cook”. I know you’re probably thinking why did SHE buy a book titled “Fit Men Cook”, I actually purchased this book for my fiance after hearing the author, Kevin Curry on one of my favorite podcasts, “Model Health Show” (I love to support black authors, they don’t get enough recognition). I placed the link where I purchased the book below; Go check it out for unique meal prep ideas! These are just some of my tips on how to regain your motivation back after the holiday season. I am incorporating all of these now and hope you will do the same!

References

Penner, Jennifer (n.d.). Stop Juicing! 6 myths about the health benefits of juicing. Retrieved on January, 2, 2019 from https://www.smartnutrition.ca/nutrition-2/juicing-health-benefits/

Link to “Fit Men Cook” Cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Fit-Men-Cook-Women-Always-HealthyAF-ebook/dp/B07CMTP844/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546641250&sr=8-1&keywords=fit+men+cook+cookbook

Link to Workout Excel Spreadsheet: http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/exercise-log.html