Holiday Party Survival Guide

Social situations are difficult to navigate in the best of times, but the added stress of the holiday season can make us paranoid, or throw our whole plan out the window.

Here are my top 3 tips to navigating the dinner parties, potlucks, and all those treats lying around the house, plus 3 easy workouts you can do at home, in Grandma’s kitchen, or anywhere!

1. Prioritize protein & vegetables. 
Whether a buffet-style or sit-down dinner, fill your plate with 1/3 protein
(any meat but preferrably lean) and then 1/3 vegetables (salad or cooked).
Use the remaining 1/3 for the fun stuff – pasta, mashed potatoes, rice or grain dishes.

2. Don’t Double-Carb
Double- or triple- carbing is when you have bread + pasta + dessert, or when you load up 3/4 of your plate with fried appetizers. For best fitness results, choose 1 of:
– pasta or grain dish
– alcohol or sweetened beverage
– dessert
Pick your favourite, the one you’ve been looking forward to the most, and stick with meat and veg for the rest. Skip the stuff that’s not worth the calories.

3. Plan 3 Epic Treat Meals
There are some Christmas non-negotiables –
like dinner at my grandparents, or my mom’s homemade gingerbread house. Everything else is typically very reactive… random food shows up, so we eat it. Focus on being proactive this holiday season by planning in advance to have protein and vegetables with every meal and prioritizing where you’re going to put your big carb calories, but also plan to have a handful of meals where you just don’t care. By being a little bit better most of the time, you can relax and enjoy a few occasions of unabashed feasting 🙂

BONUS: Make it a Post-Workout Meal
Your body is primed to store excess carbs as fuel (rather than fat) after exercise, so even if you’re not at the gym, do a mini-workout to get the muscles pumping and put those carbs to good use!

My top 3 holiday helper wods: 
1. Tabata Pushups
20 sec max reps pushups
10 seconds rest, repeat for 8 sets = 4 minutes

2. 100 air squats for time

3. Burpees

3-8 reps Every Minute on the Minute for 8 minutes

Enjoy the food and festivities this Christmas season!

Coach Rach