Thanksgiving has come and gone.  There was no obsession about Thanksgiving food or bingeing on all the foods I restricted myself from.

Things were normal!

What a difference a few years make!

Kicking the Earn Your Food and Burn the Bird crap to the curb!

One thing that warmed my heart this Thanksgiving were so many of my fellow fit pros speaking out against all of this negative language about Thanksgiving.

“Earn Your Thanksgiving Meal”

“Burn off your Thanksgiving Meal”

I also saw a lot of people speaking out against the Holiday Martyr who posts to Social Media about bringing Tupperware to Thanksgiving to show how much they are suffering.  (Of course if someone is training for something specific that is different but they were talking about the people who want to show how righteous they are about food prep)

I was so so glad to see people speaking out against the fear and self loathing that the fitness industry wants to promote.

My Basic Tips to enjoy the Holidays and Avoid Getting Sucked into the Nonsense.

  1. No Restriction (Eat what you want)
  2. Eat Normal Sized Portions
  3. Keep with your normal food routine (Treats as necessary)
  4. Stay Active
  5. Slow Down when eating (Chew each bite of food and swallow before eating the next bite)
  6. Drink Water (64 oz is a good bench mark)
  7. Watch the Alcohol
  8. Find other things to focus on other than food like friends and fun
  9. Take Breaks from people as needed
  10. ENJOY!!

Changing up My Workouts

I’ve been ready to do something a little different so I started doing workouts from Nicole Wilkins, 4x Ms. Figure Olympia.

4x Figure Olympia Champion, Nicole Wilkins

I like this type of training and even though I have put away my competition desires (for now)…who says I cannot train like that anymore?  My body did need a break from it and so it feels good to switch things up again.

The Holidays are a great time to do more lifting and maximize some of those extra carbohydrates and add some Lean Body Mass.  You don’t grow without eating…so why not now?

Let me tell you that it has been a good shake up!  I am really enjoying it.

 

 

 

 

Here’s my current split

Day 1: Upper Body Supersets/20 mins HIIT/10 mins Steady State Cardio

Day 2: Lower Body Supersets/ 30 mins Steady State Cardio

Day 3: Shoulders/Back

Day 4: Cardio

Day 5:  Legs

This way every body part gets worked twice per week which most experts recommend to see progress.

Nutrition

Still the same from Drop 2 Sizes.  Eating more plants and eating more food.  The only difference is that I am going to be more consistent with my protein shakes and also eating Cottage Cheese before bed on lifting days for the casein protein at night….so yeah.

Results

Well I still have not weighed myself but I am wearing pants that I have not worn in two years so it is safe to say that the Drop 2 Sizes Plan worked!