Holiday Eating Guide

It's that time of year. Holiday season brings with it lots of "fun" family events. Family events generally involve copious amounts of booze and food.

This is the time of year when things get serious. Food is plentiful. Booze is everywhere. There are dinners and parties once a week. How is a person supposed to maintain their healthy lifestyle in the midst of all the madness?

My solution? Give in a little bit. Just a little.

My reason? If you don't give in a little, you're going to go absolutely insane. People will think you are a bastard because you won't enjoy a little of their apple pie or mashed potatoes. Your co-workers will think you are a narc because you won't enjoy a few cocktails with them at the company party. You don't want to be that person.

Enjoy Thanksgiving. Eat the stuff you don't normally eat. Say no to taking home any leftovers (well, take some turkey home). Commence your normal eating and working out habits ASAP. Trust me, one day of unfiltered eating isn't going to set you back 3 months. Actually, if you have been in a good diet/exercise routine for a while, your body is just going to metabolize the shit out of all the extra calories you put in, and you might actually make some gains because of it!

What about the rest of the holiday season? There is another full month before it's all over. How do you survive that?

Um, for SURE not this way.

Take each party a step at a time. Enjoy yourself, but don't over-induldge. Have a drink or two, and enjoy some foods you don't normally eat. Have a small healthy meal before you head to the party so that you won't be starving when you get there. This will help you resist the urge to binge on all the sugary sweets that will surely be there. Again, aim to continue your normal training schedule as much as possible. If you miss a day or two, it's not the end of the world. A few "bad" days over the course of a month isn't enough to ruin your entire year of training.

Enjoy yourself! It's a festive time of year. And make sure you lift plenty of heavy things!