Be practical and hit the ground running in 2018

‘DON’T overdo the holiday celebrations’ might sound like the most unseasonable and lacklustre piece of advice you’re likely to here this time of year. But if have you aspirations to get fit and lose some weight in 2018, then tailoring festive indulgence is a prudent starting point.

This is a tricky time of year if you find that you need to drastically lose weight, especially when all around you is the temptation to eat, drink and be merry. It’s also a time when you can quite easily double the workload of trying to lose extra pounds waiting for January to come. The latter objective is a pathway worth staying clear of if a recent UK survey is anything to go by which stated 65% of people said their preference was to ‘have a blast’ over the Christmas period knowing that once January arrived they would lose weight. However, those surveyed also admitted to finding it more difficult to commence their fitness regime when applying this strategy.

Experts say by overindulging heavily at Christmas on the promise of being more disciplined in January is the wrong approach - one that makes the detox process twice as hard. You’re also likely to put on twice as much weight ‘having a blast’ which, as logic dictates, makes the task of shedding those new year pounds seem all the more insurmountable.

The best thing to do is be measured, sensible and realistic over Christmas. ‘Everything in moderation’ is an old chestnut that never fails when it comes to what we eat and drink. By all means enjoy Christmas, but have smaller portions and eat less, rather than constant gorging. Most importantly, commence your exercise plan as this is vital. By taking a walk or light jog everyday over the holidays you’ll be off-setting all the treats you’ve had. You may not lose much weight doing this as you can’t out train a bad diet, but what you will be doing is keeping the body active while also counteracting the intake of calories you normally wouldn’t consume on such a scale any other time of year.

Adopting this method over the holidays keeps you more active and alert as nothing gets us down quite as much as feeling sluggish. Christmas is a super time of year, but be wise and practical when it comes to what you eat and how much you exercise. Doing this will mean your 2018 fitness plans will hit the ground running.