It can be brutal on your fitness or weightloss plan this time of year with all the holiday social engagements, decadant treats being brought into the work place & placed right in front of your face, cold & flu season, and being limited on outdoor physical activities due to inclement weather. During times like these losing weight or training for a race or becoming leaner may be far-reaching, but you can at least hold steady ground on your progress so far. Do this by auditing your self & your daily lifestyle routine right now! Revisit & re-establish some basic, sensible guidelines as a reality check today!
Just think about what your common sense and intuition tell you about the ideal habits of a healthy lifestyle. If you were to jot down some of these ideals, they might read something like this, (In no particular order):
- Don’t skip breakfast, and include oats often.
- Instead of eating 2 to 3 big meals, eat 5 to 6 smaller meals/snacks throughout the day. Don’t ever starve, and don’t ever be full. Keep the metabolism stoked and revved-up all day.
- Don’t eat any later than 2 hours before bed time.
- Minimize sugar and simple, refined carbs, and strive for whole-grain, complex carbs, and vegetables. Simultaneously you will minimize and manage insulin, by avoiding such high-glycemic foods.
- If you must eat sugar, have it during your pre or post-workout meal, to burn it for energy, or for muscle recovery respectively.
- Balance your meals, by including protein foods and healthy, unsaturated fats along with carbohydrate portions.
- Eat at least 20 to 30 grams of fiber each day. Eating fresh, whole fruit, and trail mix is a tasty way to accomplish this.
