How many of you eat well and train well for a few months at a time throughout the year, have a setback for a few weeks and then get on with it?

What are those setbacks for you?

• Going on holiday
• Easter
• Birthday
• Christmas

All very good reasons to chill out and enjoy yourself in my opinion but it doesn’t mean the wheels have to come off completely meaning that you more or less have to start again after 2-3 weeks of no training and eating junk.

It doesn’t have to be that way honestly.

With the occasions I mentioned there are a lot more temptations around. All inclusive food and drinks on a beach holiday, chocolate eggs at Easter, the traditional birthday meal and night out and of course Christmas there’s everything!

I don’t want anyone to be a party pooper but you can definitely still stick to your goals without sacrificing your enjoyment.

Don’t keep saying ‘I’ll start again after the holidays’

Holiday Plan

All inclusive beach holiday. You could try only drinking in the evenings and stick to water in the day to keep you hydrated. Realistically foreign food is normally healthier than our food, if you go on holiday to a foreign country don’t eat chips and pizza all the time! Try their local foods, chances are there’ll be loads of lovely meats, vegetables and fish. Pile your plate up with this stuff and broaden your eating horizons. Deserts just have small ones, try and have fruity ones as much as you can.

Birthday Plan

Make sure you eat well in the build up. When you go out for your meal order a healthy dish, they’ll be just as tasty as the other ones. Try to stay away from cocktails and too much beer on the night out, stick to wine and spirits (not too much of course) and drink plenty of water when you get home and through the next day to keep the hangover in check. Also try to avoid the McDonalds on the way home and the next day! Get your food ready for the day after so you won’t be tempted into a take away just because you feel rubbish.

Easter Plan

This is coming up this week. Eat well for the rest of this week and then enjoy the weekend. Have an Easter egg as a treat for desert, don’t eat too many or buy too many just for the sake of it. Have good quality chocolate instead of cheap crap chocolate, this will be a little bit better for you. Have a nice big Easter Sunday dinner full of meat and veg which will fill you up that there won’t be too much room left for any eggs. And if you are going out for Bank holiday weekend follow the birthday plan.

Christmas Plan

It’s a little bit early for this so I’ll do a full article later in the year!

So my main point is for you not to just accept that you are going to put on 5-10 pounds of fat just because it’s a certain time of the year. Try the points I mentioned above, they aren’t that boring or restricted really and won’t affect you much and it means that unwanted fat won’t be affecting your waistline too much either.

Just a couple of extra tips before I leave you for you to use during every special occasion.

If you know you are having a big meal in the night say 2000 calories plus including drinks and desert then try and shave a few calories off your breakfast, snacks and lunch in the day, plus have a good workout. The deficit won’t be so much at the end of the day then.

I’m all for breakfast but at times like this when you are overeating you can get away with a really small breakfast of just a handful of fruit and nuts instead or a smoothie or even skip it (I didn’t say that ;-)).

Load of up on vegetables with your evening meal this will fill you up loads as opposed to loads of rice, pasta or chips.

Enjoy the holidays and just enjoy yourselves in general. We only get one shot so let’s try and be as happy and healthy as we can all the time.

Take care,

Jamie Stedman