Here we are post- Thanksgiving, can you honestly say you were on your plan? Were you happy with how you treated yourself, or did you cheat yourself a little to much?? We all know this time of year can be extremely difficult to stay on track with healthy eating and nutrition with all the gatherings, shopping and busy work we have to get ready for holiday parties we are going to or hosting, time does get lost and we then end up heavier, upset with ourselves and feeling guilty come the New Year.  I’m here to tell you this doesn’t have to happen, but you must take control and GIFT YOURSELF with the knowledge and desire to do so and treat yourself the way you should be treated, and yes this means taking time for yourself to take the steps necessary to succeed!

1.) PLAN AHEAD: I will say this over and over until the day I die, as it is the most important piece to the puzzle! Carve out 5 minutes everyday to plan the next day (not the day of!!) this can be any 5 minutes of your day you just need a piece of paper and pen/pencil or even your phone (yes it has a note section and a calendar so you can use either) and write down what you will do for your workout the following day and also what you will eat and when.  I have clients who set reminders for eating and if that works for you, do it! If you know you are having turkey loaf with asparagus for dinner you can pack that up and plan that as your lunch the next day. If you know you have greek yogurt in your fridge you can have that for a mid morning snack with a handful of snap pea pods, if you eat oatmeal with berries every morning have that again, if you utilize whey protein you can have that post workout with a piece of fruit, and then you’ll plan your dinner what you purchased for the week) for example chicken with veggies and brown rice then you can take that to work the following day.

2.) PLAN YOUR TREATS/CHEATS: If you plan in what you will allow yourself you will not feel the need to cheat at other times during the week. If you know you will allow a piece of pie at the party over the weekend, what’s the need for one during the week at home? NONE!  So plan in a few small treats/cheats a week during the holidays so you don’t go over-board and don’t feel deprived either.

3.) NEVER GO TO A PARTY HUNGRY: You heard me, eat before you go!!!! This way you won’t be tempted to over-indulge.  One of my pet peeves is when I hear people say “I am saving my calories for the party or for the weekend.”  This will for sure mess up your metabolism as well as give you a stomach ache!  Your body can only digest so much at one time-healthy or not- otherwise it gets stored and you guessed it turned into fat!

4.) FIND HEALTHY RECIPES: for yourself and your family and also holiday parties. Always go armed with something you can bring to a party and eat yourself.  So this way you’ll have eaten before and then can have a little something you brought that was healthy and then maybe 1 small treat and a glass of champagne or wine…but this will have been planned in, right   I have some great healthy recipes in my blogs, even my “Lean and Green Salad” below, which is always a hit!

5.) SET MINI-GOALS: Over the next few months set mini-goals each week like the below to help you feel accomplished and keep focused. Here are a few of my favorites.

-drink an extra glass of water each day

-each an additional veggie each day

-aim for 5 small, balanced meals a day

-reach out to loved ones

-stay organized

-plan my days well so I have my cooking and training times scheduled

-take 10 minutes off of Facebook or other social media sites each day so I have that time to plan and do things for myself to stay organized

-stretch a few times a week in addition to my training

6.) STAY POSITIVE: Say something positive to yourself every day, no matter how small or big.  With the mini-goals set above it should be easy to do!

With these tips you should feel like you just gifted yourself by holiday’s end and and soon you will find yourself shrinking in the mirror instead of putting a sheet over it like most of the population this time of year. Most people gain an average of 7 pounds over the holiday season…however YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AVERAGE! Set the bar high for yourself, you have nothing to fear as you can only better yourself with these small tips.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how these tips work for you and how you like my recipes so keep me posted by commenting on the post or any other posts.  You can also re-post this on twitter, Facebook if you think this is helpful.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Stay Halthy,

Janelle

Janelle’s Lean and Green Salad (2 servings below)
1 cup edammame beans (shelled)
asparagus, washed and cut into 1″ pieces (ends cut off)
1/4 c. canned artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp fresh organo
1 tsp fresh basil, chopped small

2 tbsp red onion, chopped

garlic salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS: steam edammame beans with asparagus until asparagus still crunchy but bright green.  Then place in bowl with artichoke hearts and pour over the mixture of lemon, onion, spices and olive oil. mix together and sprinkle fresh Parmesan over top (optional of course).