In my family, Easter
weekend means lots of sugar, carbs, & a whole lot of laying around – not
exactly the Trifecta that an aspiring Spartan racer is looking for. In the
past, holidays like Easter became a reason for me to put my training & diet
plan on hold for a weekend which invariably led to a week, or even a month
before I got back on track. This year, I
have put a plan in place to ensure that I enjoy my weekend with family,
but enjoy it in a Spartan-friendly way!
Below I discuss
how to avoid the ‘holiday blowout’ this upcoming weekend.
Plan ahead
Holidays often put
a big wrench in your daily routines. Whether it’s due to travel, or to accommodate
the schedule of a family member, meals can often occur at odd times & tend
to consume the better part of a day. This disrupted schedule will invariably
mix-up your training schedule.
In my experience, the best way to avoid a missed
workout is to plan ahead. Currently my routine calls for a day off from the gym
on Friday, however since I will be away on Saturday & Sunday, I moved my
rest day to Sunday, & will be getting in my Saturday workout in the morning
before I leave. This will ensure that I don’t have to step out on Saturday or
Sunday for a workout, maximizing the amount of time I get to spend with my
family, & it also helps put my mind at ease knowing that I have already put
in my work for the weekend so that I’m able to enjoy the time off.
In my experience, since plans with family are invariably
subject to change, the best bet is to try to get all of your workouts in before
you leave to ensure you can enjoy the holidays guilt-free & not have to
sneak off between dinner & desert to do some pull ups.
Indulge in a healthy way
The holidays only
come around a few times per year, so I wouldn’t dare ask you to pass on your mom’s
famous mashed potatoes, or your aunts’ world-class soufflé! What I do suggest
however is that you enjoy the foods outside of your diet plan in smaller
quantities, & enjoy those foods inside your diet plan such as turkey, ham,
or vegetables more heartily!
My general rule for holidays is to not worry about
controlling portions or counting calories, but instead to be cognizant of what
types of food make up those portions. You certainly want to take advantage of
mom’s cooking when you get a chance, just try to take more advantage of the healthier options so you feel satiated &
don’t require as much desert.
Plan family exercise
While grandma is
not likely to drop & give you 30 burpees, a post-dinner walk is a great way
to burn a few calories & kick start your metabolism after a heavy meal. If
you live in a northern climate like myself, Easter is often one of the first
nice weekends of the year & tends to be a nice time to get out & see the flowers
start to bloom. Additionally it’s a great way to spend time with your family without sitting in front of the TV!
Avoid ‘all or nothing’ mindset
This topic is so near
& dear to my heart that I wrote about the ‘all or nothing’ mindset in both my
post on accountability as well as my post on setbacks.
In the past, this mindset was by far the greatest contributor to me not following my
exercise & diet programs or achieving my fitness goals. Even if
you over-indulge in desert this weekend, DO NOT allow it to carry into your next
meal, or the next day. As I outlined in my setbacks post,
if you make a mistake, acknowledge it, learn from it, & then move on! If
you think you may slip up, bookmark this post for you to read on Monday morning!
Avoid ‘Treat Bags’
My mom is famous
for handing out chocolate & candy while you’re on your way out the door. I still
have a 2-pound sack of Lindor chocolates sitting in my apartment from Christmas.
While you may cheat on your diet while you’re at your destination, a good
strategy is to leave that behaviour at
your destination. This means that as soon as you leave Easter dinner, that
is the end of Easter dinner & just as quickly as you went off your diet,
you’re back onto it. If mom manages to get those chocolates or candy into your car, a strategy that I've used in the past is to bring the candy in to work on Monday to get it out of your house.
Enjoy yourself
Last, but not least, make sure
you enjoy yourself. Although our fitness goals are important, our families are
what’s most significant. Ensure you value time with your family over all else
on holidays like Easter, because even though time spent with family can sometimes seem
infinite, the reality is that it is very finite. So make sure you enjoy some turkey,
& more importantly enjoy your time with family this weekend!
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