Our Monthly Health & Fitness Feature from White Dress Workout | Staying focused over the Festive Period!

Today our monthly health & fitness contributor, Jennie Law from the White Dress Workout, is sharing her methods to stay focused over the festive period

With Christmas and the holidays fast approaching, it’s easy to give into temptation and gorge on all those festive goodies that seem to be literally everywhere we look, but hold up! Not so fast girl! I know it’s hard but if you’ve been working hard in the gym and in the kitchen over the past few months, you don’t want to sacrifice all your hard work now!

Whether your wedding is early in 2019 or later on in the year it’s important to stay active and feed your body with nutritious wholefoods (with the occasional festive treat here and there) so that you don’t take too many steps back before the end of the year.

Although it’s important to enjoy yourself at this time of year, it’s also important not to over-indulge as this will only lead to feelings of guilt, bloating, weight gain and feeling tired and de-motivated. I totally know how you feel though, I’m a massive gingerbread and mince pie fan but I’m also a fan of feeling good on the inside and out and believe in ‘everything in moderation’ so stay focused on the end goal, your wedding day!

Here are my top 5 tips for staying focused during the festivities

1. Stick to your usual daily routine

When it comes to December, many people use the whole month as an excuse to take a break from their usual routine of clean eating and working out but try your best not to stray too far from it. Sticking to your usual workout schedule will help you stay on track for the month and keeping an eye on your nutrition intake will also help you to get back into the swing of things much easier and quicker in the new-year when the celebrations are over.

2. Track your treats

When we attend work events and Christmas parties, it’s easy to eat mindlessly, especially if it’s a brunch or buffet with endless food and drink on the menu. I advise setting a mental limit before you attend an event and keep track of what you’ve eaten. Also, don’t forget to keep an eye on your drink intake – it’s easy to drink your calories when there are unlimited beverages included in a meal package and these calories can add up quickly without you realizing. If you have a friend or colleague who is also actively trying to control their intake, team up at the events and give each other some moral support!

3. Move more

If your lifestyle is fairly inactive and you know you will be consuming more food than usual, make a conscious effort to move more on a daily basis whether it’s walking more or taking the stairs when you can. You may actually enjoy it and want to introduce frequent exercise in your lifestyle which is a positive step forward.

4. Make some healthy, tasty treats

Instead of buying store bought goodies, find some healthier alternative recipes that use less sugar and processed ingredients so you can still enjoy a treat now and again but without the guilt. Ask your husband-to- be to join you in making them too – it can be fun to have a baking partner and it’s great bonding time!

5. Set yourself small goals for the festive period

If you know you’ll struggle to stay on track with food and exercise over Christmas, set yourself small, achievable weekly goals that you can work towards and keep you focused. It could be something as simple as going to the gym 3 times per week, aiming to walk 10k steps per day or trying a healthy new festive recipe. Again, it may be fun to get others involved too and set group challenges for your family or work colleagues so you can all help each other stay on track.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year! For my January feature I would love to answer any of your health, fitness or nutrition related questions so please email them to me at Jennie.Law@hotmail.com