I can't believe it is almost Christmas again.
If you have been following this column for a while, you may know that I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. The main reason is that if you are going to do something, you should start right away.
The further you put something off, the less likely it will get done.
This article isn't about that though. I am going to give you advice that I give to all my clients at this time of year. Are you ready? It's quite simple but not easy. I want you to print off a page of a calendar for December. I then want you to pencil in every remaining event, party, family get together or anything else that involves festive cheer (alcohol and food).
Take a look at your events and then put in all the workouts or activities that will offset all those extra calories. I am not telling you to not party. Life is short. I just want you to be aware that if you put in a bunch of extra calories and don't do anything to offset those calories, you will gain weight.
You can't eat and drink way more than you normally do, exercise less and not gain weight. That is like going to the bank, telling them you are going to spend way more money this month and expect to have more money in your account at the end of the month.
The math doesn't add up. I have a lot of clients with social jobs. They take clients out for dinners. Their social events go way up over the holiday season. A realistic goal for the next month might be to just maintain current weight and fitness. There is nothing wrong with that goal. Weight loss isn't always a straight line.
The holiday season may be a maintenance period for you. So, if you want to be proactive about you weight this holiday season, print off a calendar, put it on your fridge. You can take it one step further and put it in your phone also so you get reminders.
Enjoy your holiday season.
Ryan Cairns is a personal trainer from Charlottetown. He currently resides in Sydney, Australia. Ryan's column FIT HAPPENS is published monthly in The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Instagram @tattooed_pt.
