Fitness and holidays

With the end of year holidays upon us, a lot of people are already thinking about the large amount of food and drinks that they have consumed while celebrating with family and friends and (let’s be honest) the extra kilos they have gained. Many of us are familiar with the friendly pressure to indulge and ‘let go’ (ie: to eat and drink excessively) whilst celebrating with our loved ones.

I’m writing this today as the friendly angel on your shoulder just to remind you all that you don’t have to go crazy and undo all the good work you have done to achieve the great progress and results over the course of this year in regards to your health and fitness. Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for having a good time! I think it’s very important to celebrate the year and all the important dates around this time as you create memories and share experiences with the ones you love. But with love comes respect! If you love yourself (which you do!) then you must respect yourself and your body so that you can be the best version of yourself and love yourself even more, and if someone loves you (which they should!) then they should respect your decision to be the best you can be and help you do it.

It’s very important to celebrate and create memories with your loved ones.
But with love comes respect. If you love yourself, respect yourself and your body.
If someone loves you, they should respect your decision and help you do it!

Of course you are going to eat, drink and be merry, that’s what it’s about! I just want you to be happy with yourself and your decisions regarding your health, so I’ve put together a few suggestions to help you out this summer.

7 tips to stay fit during the holidays:

1. Set the table with smaller plates
   This is a great little trick to control the portion size of your meals. Most people won’t even notice, and if they want more food they can have seconds! We have a ‘finish your plate’ culture in Australia so this is a perfect way to counteract it.
2. Get up and do something
   The sun is shining, its a beautiful day and you are on holidays. What better way to start the day than with some exercise? A jog, a swim, a bike ride, some yoga, pilates or stretching, resistance training, a nice morning walk or a friendly wrestle with your partner is a great way to get the blood pumping and the endorphins flowing and put you in the mood for a great day!
3. Have fruit for breakfast
   Holidays are known for their big lunches and dinners. If you know you are in for one (or more) of these, then you probably don’t need to have a big cooked breakfast at the start of the day. Fruit is perfect in the morning, it’s not too heavy, and will keep you going until lunchtime. And with great Australian fruit in season like mangoes, bananas, peaches, nectarines and berries, who wouldn’t want to?
4. Play sport after lunch
   Exercising during the holidays doesn’t have to be a chore, and there’s nothing like a friendly game of your favourite sport to bring the family together! Frisbee, table tennis, passing the footy, juggling the soccer ball, shooting some hoops, there are just so many ideas to choose from. Just remember, if you hit the ball over the fence in a game of backyard cricket a) you have to fetch the ball, and b) it’s six and out.
5. Use the leftovers
   There’s always so many leftovers after the big meals and no one likes to waste food. Instead of cooking a whole new dish for the next day, use the leftovers to create something new, or alternatively freeze the excess food so you can eat it when you are too lazy to cook something next week!
6. Sing and dance after dinner
   A great way to work off your dinner and celebrate with your family and friends is to sing and dance together. It doesn’t matter if it’s traditional music from your culture, someone strumming out classics on the guitar or simply putting your favourite music on the stereo. As long as you can sing, dance or even clap along you will be moving and having a blast at the same time! Singing and dancing is about celebrating life, it’s great exercise for the body, heart, lungs and mind, and is always so much fun.
7. Go to the gym
   Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean you don’t have to work out! If you have a fob you can access Regenesis every day of the year, and if you are looking for personal training we will have trainers that are available during the holidays to give you a session.

We wish you a wonderful happy new year and hope you had a great time over the break.

Michael