HOW TO AVOID HOLIDAY WEIGHT GAIN

People tend to gain up to 2.5 kilos over the holidays, and never lose it. The vast majority of people’s weight gain happens exclusively during the holiday season.  Here is how NOT to:

* Start building serious muscle: Building muscle sounds like gaining weight, which can be completely true. But there’s another side to that coin.  Not only can you build muscle without packing on a ton of fat, but building muscle can actually help you get leaner. Half a kilo of muscle typically burns about 3x more calories per day than half a kilo of fat.

* Find yourself a source of accountability:  Someone or something that won’t let you skip out on your training session or eat that dessert when you’ve already eaten dessert three times this week.  It could be scheduling a vacation two months from now, scheduling a photo shoot, or hiring a Personal Trainer. But have some external source of accountability.  

*Make momentum work for you: Build some momentum by piling up little wins.  The premise goes like this: set up little things that you can do throughout your day that bring you closer to your goal or support a healthy lifestyle. It could be something as simple as drinking a glass of water right when you wake up, or having a protein shake for breakfast. What matters is that you get a win, celebrate that win, and then move on to your next win. 

*Don’t be scared of cardio:  Cardio has a whole host of benefits, including making you better in the gym. If you’ve got a more efficient cardiovascular system, you can have more productive lifting sessions. If you have more productive lifting sessions you’ll wind up with a better body. Cardio is also excellent for burning calories.