Christmas day is a day to be enjoyed and undoubtedly not to worry about your calorie count (unless you have a very good reason).
However, I do know that you will most likely have a few warm-up meals before the big day.
How do I know? Because I most definitely will be too.
I have therefore put together a calorie friendly recipe book with all your Christmas favourites.
These favourites will be trimmed, tucked, leaned out and sporting fewer calories than their traditional counterparts whilst still tasting amazing.
There will also be a few extras in there for you of course.
This awesome recipe book will be released on the 9th of December which you can put to use in your warm-ups and who knows, you may even prefer the trimmed versions and decide to use them in the main event.
I hope you're as excited to receive it as I am to give it to you.
This wouldn't be one of my articles if it didn't come packed with some great tips that you can apply and use so here are some great tips to help you stay on track This Christmas & New Year whilst still enjoying yourself.
Tips For Meals Out
During this festive season, you will undoubtedly be eating out a lot more often so here are a few tips to help:
Push your first meal of the day back as far as you can- If you know you're going out for a big meal in the evening try pushing your first meal of the day back as late as you can. This shortens your eating hours for the day making it harder to fit in as many calories.
Consume a high protein snack before heading out- Most people will starve themselves before they go to their meals this is a sure way to ensure you have a complete blowout. It's kind of like the saying "don't go food shopping on an empty stomach", this is because poorer choices are made and eating frenzies begin. Instead of going to your meal starving hungry, have a small protein snack to line your stomach, this will help you make better choices and not order everything on the menu.
Choose 2 courses instead of 3- This may sound obvious but believe me, not many people consider this when eating out. Choosing 2 courses instead of 3 can easily save you between 300-1000 calories when out.
Choose protein focussed meals- Protein focussed meals such as steak, lamb shank, butterfly chicken, or fish tend to be a lot less carby and a lot less creamy. Meals such as risottos, pasta dishes, and pizza, will contain lots of fats making them calorie bombs compared to a meal based on protein. Protein meals come with a side of carbs, carby meals come with a side of protein.
Tips For Drinks Out
Christmas time and New Year's come with a lot of drinks in this country, as always I never advise restricting yourself but I do advise making better decisions, here are a couple of tips on how:
Switch your wine's, ciders and beer for spirits- Spirits contain much fewer calories than your normal drinks, swapping them can save you between 1200-2000 calories a night.
USE DIET MIXERS!! - This is in capitals for a reason, that reason is that it blows my mind when someone tells me they're trying to lose weight or watch their calorie intake but drinking non-diet mixers. You're drinking empty calories for no reason, those calories could be much better spent on ice-cream, chocolate, an extra meal or of course to lose weight. Why waste calories on a drink when there's a calorie-free version. This again could save you a good 600-800 calories a night.
I was going to suggest you offer to drive so you can only have one drink but that would have been a very boring suggestion and one I definitely wouldn't do myself.
But look how many calories this would help you save on a single night, THOUSANDS!!! whilst still enjoying yourself and still getting drunk.
I am going to leave you with two last tips that will help you start 2020 better than you ever have before:
1) Don't take the whole build-up to Christmas and New Year off the gym or if you haven't started training yet, don't wait for January to get started. Taking time off now is the worst because it will be so hard to get back into and you will lose strength and good habits but gain body fat. If you're waiting to start in the new year, DON'T. That's when everyone starts then shortly after stops. The committed people are there now so it's best to follow in their steps, not the ones who go for 3 weeks and never come back again. Plus who likes trying to figure out what to do in a gym when it's it's busiest? If you're anxious about going to the gym the worst time to start is when it's at its busiest.
2) I have ONE Christmas discount space left out of three. I am offering 20% off of your first 10 sessions to train in my fully private training facility. Whilst I am feeling festive I am also going to be offering you to invite one of your friends you wish to train with the deal too. When training at The Lemon Frog Fitness Company with me you don't just get an hours training session and left on your own for the rest of the week, you also get:
- Daily Accountability - Message me any time you need advice or motivation.
- Fitness & Nutrition App - access and log all of your training and nutrition from your mobile.
- Guide To Calories Book - A book containing and educating you on everything you need to know about calories helping you make better choices and understand how to eat healthily to achieve your goals.
- Learning Platform - Get access to my private education platform built to help you learn more about nutrition, training, how to maximise the number of calories you burn, and other useful tips.
- Habit Hacks - Habits are the most important thing when trying to achieve results, that's why I will be helping you form better habits along the way.
CLICK HERE to claim this last space for you and a friend.
CLICK HERE to sign up to receive the Christmas Edition Recipe Book
Best Wishes
Louis