As we enter the first week of the Holiday Shred, we just wanted to share some helpful tips and reminders to aide the Shredders on their journey through December. It’s not safe to go alone! Take these!
DO?include drinks on your food journal. Yes, that unsweetened iced tea you had at lunch should be on there. So should that glass of wine. Remember, calories can sometimes hide in our favorite beverages; by putting everything (and we do mean everything) on your food journal, you can take some of the mystery out of your fitness challenges.
DON’T?overtrain. The temptation is there, of course: coming to the gym is part of the contest. But your body needs at least a day off to recover from your workouts. Overtraining seriously heightens your risk for injury, which could potentially sideline you and keep you from working out at all.
DO?push yourself in your workouts. There’s overdoing it and then there’s slacking, so make sure you when you enter the Arena, that you bring it and leave it on the mat. If you get through a class or a semi-private training session and you walk out thinking, “Man, that was super easy!”, then you are most assuredly doing it wrong. Pick up the pace and fire it up; Jonathan took this maxim to heart last night when he brought himself to the brink of nuclear breakdown through his own workout.
DON’T?freak if/when you slip up in your diet. One bad day is not going to wreck your entire Shred unless you allow it to derail your focus. Take a deep breath, chalk it up as a cheat day, and move on.
Speaking of cheat days,?DO?make good use of your cheat days. You should allow yourself around 3 meals of “cheating” a week, which means you can eat that bacon bleu cheese burger without batting an eyelash, because you’ve planned for it in your week. In the same manner, if you know you have a party coming up, or a big holiday meal, save your cheat meal for that occasion. Then you can allow yourself to relax and have a good time instead of hating yourself for even thinking about latkas.
DON’T?think that you can go on a crash diet and succeed. Yes, you lose weight by burning more calories than you consume. That’s science. But what’s also science is that if you suddenly cut your body’s caloric intake, it is going to assume something very bad?is happening to you. It’s going to try and hold on to what it has in order to keep you alive so you will?eat something. You need calories for your body to continue operating.
DO?eat breakfast. No, seriously. Do it. Coffee doesn’t count. Your body’s metabolism needs to be kickstarted after 6-8 hours of no food (think about it: when, during the day, do you not eat for 6-8 hours at a time and feel ok with it? Yeah, that’s right: just about never). It doesn’t need to be a huge meal, it can be as simple as peanut butter on toast, or even a banana. Find out what works for you.
DON’T?be discouraged if your first week results aren’t what you expected or what you wanted them to be. This is a 30 day competition and depending on your workout and diet, you could gain weight because you’re putting on muscle instead of fat. Or you could be retaining water that day. Again, it’s a month long competition, so don’t be upset with the short-term. If something seems really off — you’ve been eating well and exercising often — talk to the staff members at Arena (this is where food journaling becomes really important). We’re here to help!
Be a part of your own success story! Good luck!