Your Fitness: Christmas is an opportunity!

This is not something you’ll hear often among health and fitness gurus. The chaos that comes alongside the Christmas period can often be demonised for its often negative effect on your diet, habits and behaviours that would traditionally take you closer to your fitness goals. Yes. This makes a lot of sense. However, I prefer to zoom out and look at the bigger picture. I see Christmas as an opportunity and I’m going to tell you why.

Christmas is a time where we will often be afraid of gaining excess weight, drinking more and can leave many people worse off starting their fitness journey in January with more work to do! This is where you can get ahead and place yourself in a much more favourable position when the new year rolls around. Starting your fitness journey and keeping up some of the positive habits you have been making an effort with up until now will be a pivotal point in your journey.

Think about the low-hanging fruit that is going to help you towards your goal over the next few weeks. Yes, there will be Christmas parties, nights out and likely more than a few indulgent days of eating! It is what we do around this that matters!

Low-hanging fruit would involve achievable tasks, such as a step count you commit to completing each day. 

A commitment to a daily water intake to help with hydration, digestion and even helping a little with hunger. 

Nutritionally it would be a good idea to set yourself a protein target to hit most days and simply fit other foods around this. Use your food as fuel! 

With the extra food - we will likely have extra energy allowing us to squeeze in some high-quality exercise sessions! Use this to your advantage.

If you are to follow the advice above I am confident that you will end up in a more favourable position going into January and may even enjoy the Christmas period a little more due to having some structure that you would have been missing.

My last piece of advice is just as important - enjoy yourself. Do things that make you happy and make time for those you care about. Your mental health should be seen as equally important as your physical - stress management and social connection are a big part of your health and wellbeing.

If you are on the fence about online coaching and want to know a little bit more about the process - just email me the word “ready” and I will be in touch.

I am also delighted to announce that I am now offering an in-person personal training service at Kingfisher Fitness Club, Waterford. Please get in touch through the contact information below or call into reception to check availability and avoid disappointment as spaces are limited. 

Please visit my new website www.coachedbycashel.com for more information.

Lastly, I would also like to clarify that I am not a registered dietician. All advice disclosed here is simply advisory based on my qualifications as a fitness professional and personal experience and knowledge gained working with individuals and helping them reach their goals. The advice given is not designed to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

I hope someone out there found some of this information useful here, just some food for thought. 

For any questions in relation to this topic or training, nutrition, etc. or for coaching inquiries simply message me on my business page on Instagram @coachedbycashel_ or by email - contact@coachedbycashel.com