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EXOFIT | Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 | Personal Training | Personal Trainer
Festive tips this December to help with your Nutrition, Physical Activity & Mindset
Anthony Murphy - Personal Trainer at EXOFIT
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 | Personal Training | Personal Trainer
13/12/2022
1. Stay HYDRATED throughout the day
It's important that we keep ourselves hydrated this festive season, a simple tip by your personal trainer but often over-looked. Long spells on the sofa while watching your favourite T.V. programs with your close friends and family is essential in December but be mindful of your water intake. A bottle by the hand all day with sips here and there will do you the world of good without realising. Long spells of no water can leave us feeling dehydrated but also sluggish and peckish... Super setting that with chocolates on demand and a sofa day can result in poor energy levels. Keeping hydrated will help us feel good. Festive seasons are a time to enjoy but a good target of 2.5-3ltr of water a day is a must given the volume of potential alcohol we might drink and treats we might eat. Picking at food can be a sign of dehydration, dehydration can be a result of drinking alcohol or not enough water - can you see where this is never ending or constantly crossing over? Mixing that with long spells on the sofa you might not even notice a pattern developing but feeling fatigued and sluggish. Break the cross over by staying hydrated to improve fullness in-between meals and reducing snacking and to increase energy levels by keeping a reusable water bottle by your side!
2. Consider FASTING and keep on top of your COLOUR
You might want to consider fasting on certain days. Over the festive period we tend to eat a bulk of tasty foods and bigger than usual meals at lunch and dinner times. This can hold a bit of stress on our digestive track. You can aim to fast for 8+ hours to 16 hours a day to help you and your tummy prevent cramps, levels of fatigue and in-digestion by simply reducing your eating time (let your tummy rest up and stop eating) especially on the high caloric foods (crisps, sweets, etc). We would advise our clients as personal trainers to consider skipping the earlier meals in the day and save time for the body to work on the bigger meals in the evenings (but this can also be applied in the opposite direction). This will also hold some benefit to the amount of calories you will be consuming on a daily and weekly basis. Don't forget your colour, keep a mindful eye for salads and veggies throughout your meals, fruits also for morning meals. Making a small bit of effort and adding colour to all main meals (1 fist size for general guidance) will increase our fibre and micronutrient intake during a festive season that might be often considered a time for higher calorically dense foods to be consumed such as chocolates, crisps, cakes etc.
3. Take some PHYSICAL ACTIVITY breaks
Now is not the time to promote a high demanding Festive physical activity calendar, but a simple message on asking our clients as personal trainers to get walking when they can. An overall goal of 70,000 steps for the week. Try to remain active most days (doesn't have to be everyday), but most. Break up your day with morning/ afternoon or evening walks to rank up your overall weekly average of 70,000 steps. These breaks from the house will benefit our energy levels and mood by getting a fresh outdoor walk in with a bottle of water by your side. Taking in the fresh crisp air out on a walk will tick the box in our eyes as personal trainers. The goal is to achieve 70,000 steps for the week on average (Mon-Sun, generally speaking).
4. Go in with the RIGHT mindset
As a personal trainer I've suggested some tips around your water intake, fasting options, colour intake and to maintain a physical activity schedule/standard this festive season. But most importantly, protect your relationship with exercise and food this festive season. If you chose not to be physically active, or chose to consume some chocolates, then please do that without the sense of GUILT. We don't build or lose the success of a business over a festive period break when recharging our batteries as employees, so why do we feel that all progress made over the course of 2022 will be lost or badly damaged in (most cases) 14 days? How do expect to come back into the New Year fully recharged and ready to exercise if we haven't fully enjoyed a much needed downtime without the feeling of guilt subconsciously attached to the back of our choices? We ask all of our clients to fully enjoy their much needed break, don't label any foods (just enjoy the choices you make) and consider making decent efforts with water, colour and steps. The rest is to be enjoyed and not overly tracked!
Anthony Murphy - Personal Trainer at EXOFIT
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 | Personal Training | Personal Trainer
MSc, REPs
13/12/2022
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