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15 December 2011

How to Survive the Silly Season


Well it’s that time of year again. It always seemed a long way away, then all of a sudden it’s upon us…Christmas!

That’s right, the season of giving and sharing and spending time with families. Then there is the other side. The stress of last minute presents, trying to catch up with friends, too many mince pies and just far too much alcohol. All signs of exercise and looking after the body is put on the back burner as most people just give up and think ‘I’ll start in January’. Unfortunately too many people are saying that at the start of December, not just before Christmas itself.

Here are some simple but very effective ways to survive the ‘Silly Season’ and not make January such a chore when it comes around. When you think about it, instead of having a month to six weeks off exercise and healthy eating, you only take 2-3 weeks off. This makes a huge difference for all of your exercise and health related goals come the 1st of January.

Top Tips for Surviving The Silly Season:

1. Keep Exercising. Don’t stop just because you get busy. Make a plan and stick to it.

2. Drink Water. Even if you don’t feel like it, keep your water consumption up! How much:
Daily Water Consumption = Bodyweight (kg) x 0.033

3. Have days off alcohol. I know it is hard at this time of the year, but give your body a break.

4. Pre-tox! Realise that you are going to fill your body with chocolates, mince pies and all sorts of other delights, so have junk free days and weeks leading up to Christmas.

5. Spacers. When at the office Christmas party you don’t have to set new alcohol consumption records just because it is free. Space your drinks out with food and non-alcoholic drinks to save your liver and embarrassing days after.

6. Line your stomach with good solid food before going out drinking. Eating is not cheating! It is making sure that you enjoy yourself without getting too drunk.

7. Plan some fun activity which is physical exercise. A nice walk on Christmas day. Or the traditional front yard Cricket match always works well.

8. Sign up for a New Years Day run. Sounds crazy I know, but trust me, you will think twice about that ‘one for the road’ at 3am when you know you have a10km run to do in the morning.

9. Just maintain some exercise levels. Remember something is better than nothing at this time of year. It doesn’t have to be flat out. But doing the base work now will keep things moving forward.

10. Think Positive! Don’t give in to the ‘Silly Season’! Keep moving one step closer to your Health and Exercise goals.

Hopefully, this has giving you a helping hand to survive this time of the year. We all know that the real work will start in January, but if you make a steady start now you will have laid some good foundations for all of the work to follow.

If you need any more help, then please feel free to contact me at lyndon@londonwellness.co.uk

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