Lose that holiday excess baggage
Eat clean and shape up in just a few weeks
First of all, whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up for letting yourself go on holiday. Time away from the stresses and strains of life at home can actually be really beneficial for your body. Because you’re removed from everyday stress, you’ll spend so much more time enjoying your meals. You’ll eat slowly and calmly. You’ll metabolise your food better, digest better and have the perfect chance to really listen to your body.
But you’re back now. As soon as you open your work in-box, stress hits you like a tidal wave. Those lazy days on the lounger have been swapped with frantic dashes for the bus. Satisfyingly nutritious banquets have given way to meal deal convenience food. This all spells trouble for your health, but what you do have on your side now is a return to the routine. You can use that to start building in good habits that will help you lose weight intelligently.
That starts by addressing four crucial elements that have a profound impact on your health: your mindset, nutrition, movement and sleep. Together they combine to create the Bodyism four pillars of health that are intrinsically linked to how you feel inside and out.
If you’re looking to lose weight after a holiday binge, addressing all four evenly and intelligently is what you need to do to get back on track in the short term and feel healthy and happy in your body in the long term.
Mindset
So, you want to shift your holiday weight? First, ask yourself why? Asking the right questions is crucial to finding the right answers. Always start with your “why”. “Why do I want to lose weight?”, “Why do
I want to eat well?”, “Why do I want to feel healthy?”
My “why” is: “Why do I eat well and exercise every day?” My answer is: “I want to give myself the best chance of living a long, happy, healthy What you resist, persists: James Duigan, below, argues treats like ice cream are fine if they’re part of a healthy diet life so I can be the best father, husband and friend that I can be.” That “why” keeps me focused on making the right decisions in all four pillars of health.
Your turn. Ask yourself why you want to shift that holiday weight. What’s your goal? What would make you happy – truly happy? Once you have that, hold on to it. Be mindful of it every day to help guide your actions with what you eat, when you move and how you sleep.
Find that motivation, that purpose, and the first day back in your gym kit after an extended absence will feel that little bit more manageable. If you still can’t bear to slip on your exercise shoes, think about starting small. Simply move your body. Walk around the block. Walk half your way to work.
And start your day with positive affirmations to get your mind into shape. Tell yourself, “I am refreshed”, “I am rejuvenated”, “I am unstoppable”. These positive statements help define you as you want to be. They help your goals feel real, attainable and achievable.
Nutrition
You already know what’s healthy and what’s not – the problem is whether you can resist temptation. The typical solution is to go on a diet. But diets do not work. Diets are based on denial.
If I tell you not to think of the Eiffel Tower, it will be the first thing that comes into your mind.
Similarly, if I told you not to order a takeaway curry this weekend (even though you’ve been craving it all holiday), most people reading this won’t be able to stop thinking about it until the stupid diet they are on finally finishes and they can eat all of the samosas and poppadoms they can. This phenomenon can be summed up in one phrase: “What you resist, persists”. So, rather than fighting against your cravings and making it a battle, simply let it go. The key is not focusing on and thinking about what you can’t have, and instead focusing on what you can have.
So often, health is focused on giving things up, when actually it should be about enjoying amazing food which improves how you feel – and once you’ve experienced that, there’s no going back. Bring abundance into your diet. Eat lots of colours, dark green veg, bright red peppers, vibrant orange sweet potatoes, the rainbow of beans, legumes and fruit. Enjoy a varied diet to fill your body with all the natural nutrients, minerals and vitamins it needs to
‘Your mindset, nutrition, movement and sleep are crucial to your health’
feel happy and healthy. Still thinking about that curry? Below is an easy-to-make but mind-blowing to eat turmeric dhal recipe from my new book.
Movement
When I say “movement”, I mean exercise. That doesn’t mean lifting weights until your ears bleed or putting on hot pants and jumping up and down for 90 minutes every day. It can be a walk with a gentle stretching programme and a couple of body-weight resistance circuits per week – that’s all you need for a long, healthy, happy life.
Imagine if every day you went for a 45-minute walk, did some gentle stretching and a few squats and lunges alongside eating and sleeping well. You’d be well on the road to being healthy and full of energy. You don’t even have to do anything crazy to get there. You can make significant progress with your body, without damaging it, by simply working the three aspects of movement intelligently:
1. Balance. Movements that challenge your balance include single leg work, single arm work, certain yoga poses and even closing your eyes while doing a familiar movement, like a squat or a lunge, or even a push-up. You’ll be surprised how much more demanding that is.
2. Strength. This can be anything from lifting weights to body-weight exercises, such as squats, single lunges, press-ups or, if you’re ready for it, handstands.
3. Cardio. This includes the full spectrum, from sustained cardio, such as a long walk in the park, to highintensity cardio, such as sprints in the gym. A good, balanced programme will incorporate all three of these.
Sleep
Sleep is when the magic happens. It’s your body’s opportunity to regenerate, recharge and replenish. It’s when everything you did throughout the day gets processed, physically, mentally and emotionally.
Without proper, good-quality sleep, any transformation to your overall well-being becomes difficult or close to impossible. On the flip side of that, a good night of deep, nourishing, quality sleep has the power to transform your mind and body.
So what should you do to get a good night’s sleep? These three steps will help. First, make sleep a priority. By simply understanding and recognising how important sleep is, you will start to take it a bit more seriously. Next, embrace your post-holiday return to routine. Create a familiar ritual that your body and brain recognise, so you can start to truly unwind and prepare for a wonderful night’s rest.
Finally, try to live by what I like to call “the caveman approach”. When the sun goes down in the evening, dim the lights in your home. Just as a caveman would light a fire at night, this is the modern-day equivalent. Limit the use of electronic devices in the evenings, such as phones, tablets, laptops, computers and televisions. This further reduces external stresses, calming you down before bedtime, rather than stimulating you more. It might sound silly, but it does work.
If you can apply a few of these suggestions, within just a few weeks I guarantee you will feel more energetic and less anxious. And, believe it or not, the decrease in stress can also lead to a flatter tummy, too! By focusing on all four pillars of health, you can achieve life-changing results that will last a lifetime. So many people just focus on one pillar of health. For example, they might exercise to an extreme level, but then they aren’t sleeping, their mindset is all wrong and they’re eating badly. It’s not the most intelligent way of doing it.
Instead, when you begin to calmly see what needs to be done in all four pillars of health and you work on them equally and intelligently, your body will transform, not just for the short term, but long term too.
So next time you return from holiday, there will be no need to worry about shedding any weight because the principles you’ve learned will help guide you to live healthily all-year round.