Enjoyment after enjoyment can often lead to a bloated stomach at Christmas and make us feel sluggish, leave our goals behind and overcompensate in January.
Bulk nutritionist Simon Jurkiw, along with Bulk ambassador and PT Hayley Madigan, shared their Christmas tips.
From revealing what’s really in our Christmas dinner to tweaking your fitness regimen, their advice will help you get into the holiday season armed with the knowledge of how to enjoy all that extra food and still meet your fitness goals.
Simon said, “Christmas is just around the corner, which means lots and lots of food. We can often think about what this means for our fitness goals and feel like we are struggling between the two. However, we often don’t really look at our favorite festive treats.
“When it comes to Christmas dinners, people often focus on the calories – which can be high at times. However, you’d also want to look at the macronutrients in the foods – carbohydrates, proteins, and fats Christmas holidays like turkey, pigs in blankets, these provide a lot more protein than most people have in other meals. There is an abundance of proteins that support muscle growth support. that might be exactly what you need.
“There are usually complex carbohydrates from fried potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, which give you lots of energy and replenish muscle fuel stores. Sure, potatoes can have more fat than sweet potatoes or boiled potatoes, but the diet should be around 20%. Fat.
“Christmas dinners are abundant in vitamins and minerals, from broccoli, carrots, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms and more. At a time when coughs and colds are more common, vitamin C is all over your Christmas plate. There are B-vit from potatoes , Calcium from the cheese board, magnesium from leafy vegetables, everything is there.
“When it comes down to it, Christmas is a once in a lifetime event to spend time with family and eat what you want. Don’t be obsessed with whether you “should” or “may” have something. 3,500 extra calories for a pound, so a few high-calorie meals or treats here and there won’t make much of a difference.
Bulk Ambassador and PT Hayley Madigan also shares how tweaking your fitness regimen can help make extra gym Christmas dinners to your advantage: you can use the extra calories and protein to lift heavier and build more muscle that the Burn more calories at rest.
“When we eat more food than we are used to, our need to move more increases and we have more energy to go through the workout harder.
“When we train with weights, we tear the working muscles before they build up again in peace. Slowly the body gets used to this exercise or the exact weight we are using – unless we are pushing ourselves by increasing the resistance used (lifting weight).
“So if you increase the weight you lift, you need more energy (such as food). This makes December the perfect time to focus on weight training and heavier when we all want to enjoy more Christmas dinner As Simon mentioned, stock up on the extra turkey and pigs in blankets as these provide extra protein that is perfect for building muscle. “
