Domin Munnely

Research has shown that the average person can an amazing gain 5-10lbs of fat over the xmas period.

It’s very easy to let the weight one can gain over Christmas creep into the new year and beyond so here is how you are going to stay on track.

Speeking of Christmas, this is a great time to really push for some massive progress in your training and nutrition so you are in tip top shape for the xmas parties. It is great to look and feel your best for these occasions so here is what you need to do to make sure you don’t look back in regret when you are trying on a nice outfit for your parties.

1. Make it a priority - you can’t be tentative about fat loss or muscle gain, don’t be wishy washy. It needs to be all out war and no excuses. Those people that are and stay in great shape do not do so through accident so get off the fattening carbs, all the junk food and alcohol for the next few weeks and you can enjoy the Christamas being a few pounds lighter or a few pounds more muscular.

2. Hit the weights – if you are still doing the same program for over 6 weeks you really need to change it up and do a review. Your body will have adapted to the program and a new program can give you a much needed boost to keep your training on track. Use any of my workouts in my home workout section for great sessions that you can get done in under 15-20mins or less.

3. All calories are not created equal – The vast majority of the clients I deal with do NOT work/function well on a high carb intake i.e. over40% of total calories. Now what i mean by working well is that they gain fat more easily if they eat more carbs (especially the really starchy/junk ones) or feel really tired on them. The people that tend to function well on carbs (and good quality carbs at that e.g. sweet potato, some rice, veg, some fruit etc)will be already quite slim, have a low body fat and exercise frequently. Most of your carbs should be coming from the likes of berries, some fruit, oats and lots of vegetables.

4. Stay on track – getting the diet and training right for a week or two will give you a week or two’s worth of results so please be realistic on wanting to know how long it’s going to take etc. There are 3,500 calories in a single pound of fat so if you have just done a 30mins walk and are feeling very virtuous and in need of a bloody latte then please give yourself a big slap in the face and wake up! A 30mins walk will burn about 200-300 calories at best so that is why you need to do interval training, weights and longer walks if you are going to walk. It’s much easier to put the weight on than to take it off so please keep on track with your nutrition and have some ‘treats’ occasionally NOT every day. When you have a treat please do not go crazy and blow all progress you would have made over a 5-6day training period – have a little of what you fancy and do not act like a pig.

Enjoying your food has more to do with the taste and not gorging on certain foods you like, for example, I love dark chocolate but that does not mean I have to eat enough of it to make me sick. Yet, when asked what stops people from getting in better shape some reply with “Oh I like my food tooooo much” well I am sorry but if you are overweight and have low energy levels it’s not that you like your food too much and has more to do with you eating uncontrollably. Do yourself a favour and be honest with yourself when you next eat – slow down, enjoy your food and it’s ok to not finish everything on your plate you know

Have a super Christmas and I am looking forward to helping you get and stay in great shape for the new year.