If you have ever had a chat with me or read some of my other content, you may have noticed that I encourage my clients to adopt a flexible and realistic approach towards their health and fitness. I encourage my clients to look at the bigger picture and plan to make sustainable changes to their lifestyle, not just focusing on getting through the next few months. I use this approach for all aspects of health, with specific focus on dieting.
December may be the hardest time to adopt a restrictive approach to eating; an overly conscious and obsessive approach with calories can be more trouble than it's worth - I mean all things considered, we know that we are going to eat and drink too much anyway. So why stress over it?
I’m not saying you should throw all your hard work out of the window but you certainly shouldn't feel guilty about indulging. If you can get to the gym or train at home, then great. But don’t make it a priority - enjoy your time off!
If you’ve been following various diet plans in order to lose weight, just remember - this tends to escalate your stress levels further the longer you have been dieting. Don’t forget - when you diet you become fatigued, both physically and mentally and the longer you restrict your calories, the harder your life becomes and the less weight you are able to lose.
For context, professional bodybuilders avoid lengthy low calorie dieting phases for these exact reasons. When a dieting phase goes on for long enough, it becomes less effective and can cause more trouble than it's worth. When results slow down and weight loss begins to stall they schedule a “diet break”.
A diet break should typically last for 1 -2 weeks in which you increase the amount of calories you are consuming and reduce your training intensity to allow your body and mind time to recover. This makes December the ideal time of year to consider a diet break of your own. Especially if you're feeling the stressful effects of dieting.
I encourage this approach because I coach weight loss strategies to many of my clients; by being strategic with eating habits we can take advantage of the festive period as a chance to recover. There is plenty of time to train in 2022!
We want a practical solution to your weight loss goals, often when someone has maintained their results through December while reducing levels of stress, I celebrate this the most. My key to successful weight loss is understanding when to be strict and when to take your 'foot off the gas'.
P.S. If this article resonates with you, then you might be interested to know that Olly is running a 6-week weight loss course in January 2022 - click here to find out more.