TWELVE TIPS FOR A HEALTHIER CHRISTMAS

12 TIPS FOR A Healthier CHRISTMAS

By Scott Harrison - Founder of The Six Pack Revolution

1Make a decision that this year you are going to make the conscious effort to take the healthy option. Set this in stone by either getting a friend to do this with you or make this a pact within the family. Buddying up is proven to be a more likely road to success.

2Make sure your healthier objectives are achievable. If they require too much hard work and are excessively time consuming, this will often lead to procrastination and lack of achievement especially over this busy season.

3If you are used to spending an hour or more in the gym or working out at home, reduce your time to 15-30 minutes. With the correct routine you can achieve just as much if not more with a full body HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout and this way if you find you have more time, you can do another and therefore you are in a win win situation!

4Make your Christmas shopping an eventful day out, full of festive hustle and bustle. Forget online shopping and prepare your list for everyone in advance. You will definitely hit your daily steps target as you spend the whole day walking around the shops and feel it in your trapezius muscles and arms, carrying all the bags. If you really fancy a challenge make a decision that escalators are out of bounds and the stairs are the only option. This will result in a full body workout and a day of serious calorie burn.

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Do NOT have bowls of sweets and chocolates out on display around the house as this only encourages “pigging out” unnecessarily. Out of sight out of mind!

6Keep treats to a sensible amount. So often we shovel in several portions of Christmas Cake, Mince Pies and festive chocolates, to name just a few. Control the unnecessary gluttony and just have one piece of the treat you just cannot say no to at this time of year.

7Drink plenty of water, a practice you should keep throughout your life not just Christmas. Aim for at least 2-3 litres per day (don’t worry this becomes the norm and very easy when you get used to it). Not only is this extremely good for your digestive system over this indulgent time but also assists fat loss, making you feel fuller for longer as well as help prevent hangovers.

8If you must drink alcohol at Christmas, there is a damage limitation plan should you wish to take it up. For the white wine drinkers making a DRY white wine spritzer using soda water will keep your empty calories at half of usual consumption as with a full glass of wine and also send you on a happier merry vibe rather than paralytic. If you are a spirit drinker, Vodka and Slimline tonic or Soda. If you are a cocktail drinker, then Bloody Mary is the best for you and if you are celebrating with champagne then you will be pleased to know this is a very low calorie drink but I fully recommend however you drink this festive season every single one of you has a small glass of water after every tipple.

9Bring exercise into Christmas morning and throughout the day by getting all the family to agree to earning their present through a simple exercise challenge creating lots of fun and laughs and slowing everyone down from ripping open the gifts in 5 minutes flat and delaying that gloomy “it’s over” feeling... Example: Present 1 (the Battlerope you had on your Christmas list) ; the whole family has to do a 30 second plank before they can have it and it’s a team effort so no one can open theirs until the final family member has completed the challenge... Present 2; requires 10 press ups and so on... Take funny photos as dad collapses in a heap on the floor and I recommend you all give this a good go, not only is it great fun and brings the family together, which of course is the whole point of Christmas, but the exercise will release the chemicals in the body called endorphins that trigger a happy positive feeling that will pay dividends throughout this quite often stressful day. 10 Christmas Dinner - Good news, Turkey is a very lean protein source, full of vitamins but drowning it in goose fat is not necessary. A tablespoon of olive oil under the skin with your fresh herbs will do the trick. Swap your Maris Pipers for Sweet Potato Roasties as they are delicious and filling yourself up on the healthy veggies first will satisfy your hunger. Leave out the Yorkshire Pud and keep the gravy to a minimum. A second plateful really isn’t necessary, grab another glass of water instead.

11 How to use your left-over turkey and begin your detox after an indulgent Christmas Day (See recipe on page 52). This delicious beautifully balanced meal will begin to cleanse your system from the day before making you feel alive and set you on the path to a new you. (N.B. To fully detox and make substantial progress in your body and mind comes from a sustained period of clean healthy eating, drinking and exercise).

12 Finally be realistic, it is Christmas after all and expecting to reveal a new six pack over this week or so is less likely to happen and that’s ok, so go easy on yourself and just do your best to limit the damage!

All of the team at The Six Pack Revolution wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy healthy New Year x

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