Winter Vacation Tips

I love winter vacation. I have loved the Christmas spirit since I was born and I am now in love with the Thanksgiving feelings, too. I like the smells, the serenity, and the time spent with family and friends. It's a lovely period and I really enjoy it. 

But as with any holiday or festivity, this time can also lead to changes in our routine, excesses in eating, and decreases in activity. I use the word “crazy” to describe this time of year because I love December as much as I hate it. December can easily destroy all the hard work made in previous months :)

Free time and Excesses

The key words of this period of the year are: free time and excesses!

It is our duty as fit people to get some days off from our workout routine. We have been working out so hard since the end of the summer vacation, so we have earned a break and it’s encouraged to enjoy the spare time with family, friends or relaxing alone. It’s another form of taking care of ourselves. I will not encourage it everyday, but it’s important to know how to deal with it as well.

Moreover, as I said, it’s the period of excesses, heavy meals, good wine, chocolate...Enjoy it! Whattttt? Yes, it’s fine to slow down and also enjoy some delicious meals and tasty wine. But always with a fitMindset.

The fitMindset is always with me 

Winter vacations are the easiest time of the year to gain weight. If that happened to you last year, it's because you didn't have a fitMindset. Now, with the new you and your new mindset, you can feel confident that will not happen again! It's important to be able to accept changes to your routine, like sitting at the table for longer periods or eating heavy meals, while not undoing all of our hard work. And, it's even better if we can enjoy it!

Here are few tips to embrace the excesses:

- plan your vacation days to include at least 45 mins of movement (run, walk, hike, bike ride); in addition, it’s a chance to promote the fitMindset in your community!

- start your vacation day with 1-2 lt of water. This way, when you sit down at the table, you won’t be too hungry and you will eat to enjoy the meal (rather than overeat!);

- include some easy, healthy greens (salad with oil, vinegar or salt) in your meals. When we are in front of a rich table we always forget about vegetables, but they help to keep our digestive system active which is useful to eliminate the excesses;

- try to avoid store bought food, but get involved in the meal preparation to be aware of what you will serve at the table and feel the accomplishment of having made healthy food;

- find time to complete very intense but fast exercise such as the “Trimester Evaluation” and “Trimester Achievements” from the GfM program, try to do your best, to break your mental and physical limits and to finish exhausted. This will be perfect to accelerate your metabolic system that is slowed down by heavy food.

Happy Vacation Month,

with love

Giorgia