HOW TO STAY FIT OVER CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR

We all know that December is an extremely tough month to stay fit and motivated to keep healthy. There is just too much temptation, Christmas party invites galore, work lunches and all of your mates suddenly want to catch up before the end of the year. I'm pretty sure that many of us out there have spent more days in December nursing a hangover than not. 

I for one, don't really get many Christmas party invitations (mini violins please) mainly because I work on my own, for myself...so whats the point, turkey for one! Then there is my New Years holiday to Thailand. So for the first time, this December I'm staying fit and healthy and here are my tips to do so.

1. JOIN A FITNESS BOOTCAMP

Seems obvious, right? Well yes kind of but notice I said bootcamp and not gym. I do both and feel I get more out of being involved in bootcamp outdoor fitness training. Gyms can be quite expensive and a little dull once you are in there, thats unless you have a gym buddy or get some PT sessions. My point is, gyms are great if you are highly self motivated, bootcamps are great because it is group based fitness where you are getting motivated by the instructors and also by like minded people. I belong to British Military Fitness who run bootcamps across the UK, were fitness meets social.

2. REFUEL

After a heavy exercise session it is important to refuel your body - it should be screaming out for food, so give it what it needs! I'm a morning fitness person, so my favourite post exercise food is Protein Pancakes (shown above). Simple to make and packed with goodness. I layer my pancakes with Steens Raw 20+ UMF Manuka Honey as it is packed with plant phenols and antioxidants which support a healthy diet.  Here are the ingredients:

Put all ingredients into a blender, nutri-bullet or similar:

1. Splash of almond milk.
2. 2 eggs.
3. Handful of oats.
4. One heaped scoop of protein powder (I use PhD banana flavour).
5. Half a banana (keep the rest for garnish).
6. Tea spoon of coconut oil.
7. Table spoon of greek 0% fat yogurt.

Cook in coconut oil, serve layered with honey and top with more Greek 0% fat yogurt, banana and mixed berries.

3. DRINK MORE NATURAL TEA

Sorry guys, I know how tempting it is to head to your nearest Costa or Starbucks and pay way too much for a white hot chocolate, gingerbread latte or hazelnut cappuccino. Spend the same price as one of those coffees and get yourself 15 Teapigs! TeaPigs provide naturally caffeine free tea in soooooo many different flavours, so if the Christmas 'spiced winter red tea' isn't quite your thing, then go for a more palatable peppermint tea.

4. ENJOY SNACK TIME

Little and often, little and often...I keep telling myself. Its now 3-4pm and its been a couple of hours since lunch and dinner seems a million miles away. Try not to head over to the naughty snack machine in the corner of the office. Buy healthy snacks so you can enjoy some guilt-free indulgence. Check out Willies Cacao which is about as healthy and indulgent as chocolate gets. I also love these little squares of goodness from Bioglan Raw Bites - I'm going to try the Cacao & Quinoa ones next. 

5. REMEMBER YOUR 5-A-DAY

I've had those vegetable and fruit boxes that you get delivered to your door in the attempt to eat more veg. It just didn't work, I ended up throwing most of it in the bin or blending it to make juices, but I was never that good at combining flavours. Thanks to Bioglan SuperFoods, they have done all the hard work for us with their superfood pouches. Just blend with water, I tend to have one of these per day either was my dinner, as a snack or after an evening fitness workout.

6. AND RELAX

It is important to remember down time, to relax the muscles as well as your brain. Think about what is important in your life, what makes you happy and try to let all the stresses go. These essential oils from Nudo are the perfect relaxant and each of their oils are suitable for bathing, massage or vaporisation. 

HAVE A HEALTHY, STRESS FREE CHRISTMAS...LOVE CARL X

Check out How to Work Out in Your Hotel Room

by Carl Thompson at Mode