Battling the Bulge Action Plan

For the past month we've indulged ourselves in the spirit of Christmas with lots of rich food, too much drinking and many late nights.

This lethal combination can cause havoc not only to our bodies but also our skin and contribute to general decrease in energy levels. You're probably feeling a little sluggish and still bloated from Christmas, and probably not looking or feeling the best.

Stay off the scales! The clothes are fitting a little tighter, you feel you've put on a couple of centimeters (or two or more) so why do you need the reinforcement from your bathroom scales to tell you you've put on a little weight. To help you overcome this interim 'fat phase', the best thing to do is hide your scales until you've got yourself into some fitness regime before you get back on the scales again. The more you're hung up about how much weight you've put on the worse it'll be for your psyche and the post Christmas blues may linger for longer than intended.

 

Clear out the fridge. Invite all your friends and relatives to come and eat the leftovers. If the food isn't there then there's less chance of you picking at the left overs which is much better for your waistline - unfortunately not theirs!

Restock the cupboards. Now that the leftovers are gone, you'll have more room in the cupboard and fridge for some fresh heathy food and vegetables which may have been fighting for shelf space last month. Make sure you buy plenty of nutritious and low fat foods and avoid buying any more chocolates or biscuits - eventhough they may be on sale. This will ensure that if a snack attack creeps up on you there won't be anything naughty in the cupboards.

Cut down on alcohol and caffeine. To help the liver with its revitalising process, try and cut down on the amount of alcohol and caffeine you're consuming. Once the New Year and Christmas celebrations are over, try and make and effort to cut alcohol out of your eating regime altogether otherwise you'll never get over that hangover! Plus alcohol is a burden to the liver and will slow down your new 2002 fitness plans. Too much caffeine can also make you anxious and strung out during the post New Year period so try and have no more than 3 cups a day. Or maybe try some calming herbal teas instead.  

Drink plenty of water. This is an absolute must! Try and drink at least 2.5 litres each day as this will help your liver detoxify itself by removing some of the waste products out of your system.

Increase Vitamin B. Over the past month you've put your body through alot stress as it's had to deal with the extra consumption (and processing) of alcohol and rich foods. In dealing with this, alot of vitamins and minerals have been lost from your body which also contributes to your current state of lethargy. To help you restore some of these elements, you may need to supplement with Vitamin B as this vitamin is necessary for the upkeep of many vital bodily functions. So get into those Beroccas!

Get back into a routine. The sooner you get into your fitness and eating regime the better. Some of you may have had a month of interrupted training so be careful when you start back. Don't try and do everything at once! Don't do heaps of cardio, or into heavy weight training and whatever you do don't go into serious dieting (depending on what your goal is ofcourse). Ease yourself into a normal training and eating pattern first before doing anything drastic with yourself!