How to Bounce Back After the Holidays

What we eat in between Christmas and New Year's is much less important as what we eat between New Year's and Christmas.  While the holidays can be somewhat damaging to your progress, it's not enough to completely ruin all the hard work you've put in this year.  All you babes shouldn't feel guilty about indulging in holiday traditions!  It's only once a year that we get to surround ourselves with friends and family while feasting on all the food in sight.  If you're feeling a little off track and don't want to throw all motivation out the window, I'm here to help you reverse the impact of the holidays on your waistline!

I whipped up some sugary Cranberry-Rosemary Sangria and had extra helpings of mashed potatoes and I'm not afraid to admit it.  After my pants were feeling a little tight I realized I need to bounce back before I let this "winter body" get the best of me.  Fully focused on getting back into the healthy lifestyle, I've got some tips on how to bounce back after the holidays.  You'll feel totally refreshed- just in time to rock a cocktail dress on New Year's Eve!

1. Stay Away from Leftovers
When you live an active lifestyle, it's perfectly normal to eat a large plate of food (or two) on Christmas Day.  I like to call that balance.  It's even OK to have leftovers the day after Christmas.  At this point in the game, you may want to cut your losses and walk away from the remaining leftovers. 

Don't get me wrong- you shouldn't regret any of the foods you ate over the holidays.  Keeping unhealthy food around post-holidays makes it more tempting to continue with the unhealthy eating habits, though. Set your (non-refrigerated) ingredients for your morning shake out the night before to make it easier on yourself for breakfast.  You'll think twice before grabbing leftover cookies on your way to work when your normal healthy options are readily available.  Anything else you can do to avoid holiday eating will encourage your body to bounce back quickly!

2. Drink Plenty of Water
If you're feeling bloated or dehydrated from the holidays, the best trick is to replenish your body with ample amounts of water.  Remember the general rule of thumb: drink half your body weight in ounces.  For example, if you weigh 160 lb. you should be drinking 80 oz. of water daily.  You can sneak this into your protein shakes or fill up your water bottle several times throughout the day.  Whatever you do, just make sure you're getting the H2O your body needs! 

3. Clean up your Diet
Now is the time to especially focus on lean meats and raw vegetables. Remember when I said to avoid leftovers? There's one exception: turkey. I sliced up some leftover turkey breast and added raw broccoli to my salad last night and it was delicious! Focus on clean eating more particularly than usual for the next few days to help shred any weight put on over the holidays. Stay away from highly processed foods and foods high in sugar, too. These foods are OK in moderation, but for right now you want to cleanse your system of holiday indulgences.  Getting them out of your system will keep you from craving all the wrong foods. 

4. Kick up the Cardio 
In addition to any weight training you may be doing now, you'll want to sweat it out with a little extra cardio after the holidays. Sign up for a few calorie-blasting classes to help burn off any extra weight. Kickboxing is my favorite, but other options such as Spin and Zumba can be nearly as effective.  You may even want to run a few extra miles.  Not only will it help your metabolism, you'll feel more accomplished and ready for the new year! 

5. Avoid Alcohol 
With New Year's Eve approaching, this one may be a little difficult.  I plan on drinking champagne when 2016 hits, but I'm cutting alcohol out of my diet until then.  Alcohol can sneak hundreds of extra calories into your day if you're not careful.  It also tends to make us feel sluggish during our workouts.  If you want to be your absolute best in the new year, cutting down your alcohol intake for the next few days will help wonders!  Trust me, when the bloating from Christmas goes away you'll hardly even miss the alcohol. 

I am so excited for the new year.  I hope my tips have put you in the same mindset, too.  We are going to rock these next few days!  Bouncing back from holiday eating will be a breeze and now you can focus on conquering those New Year's resolutions!  Now I'm ready to watch the ball drop- how about you?!

xoxo, 
Amanda