A Healthy Holiday Plan

Time for Healthy Holidays!

This is week 2 of a blog post series focused on maintaining an exercise and healthy eating plan to navigate the holidays from November through new Years. The post season analogy is related to Football, which resonated with me. The most important part of Football is the playoffs (post season), and the months of November and December are the most important months for teams trying to make the playoffs.

If you are new to my blog or the series, please take a look at my week 1 post to catch up on my plan and how it has been going. Week 1 will also outline some ideas for you to make your own plan, if you would like to join in!

Getting Ready for Week 2

I did some pre-planning to set myself up for success in week 2. Starting off the week, I knew I would be doing a little bit of traveling on the weekend, so I felt it important to make sure Monday-Friday were days I plan to exercise (meeting the goal of 5 days per week). I also made sure to do some shopping and meal planning before the week started, to make sure my nutrition was not being left to chance.

Week 2 Day by Day

Monday

Monday exercise was 30 minutes on the Nordic Track, with around 30 minutes of stretching beforehand. For nutrition, I started the week off with a 22 hour fast, eating my one meal of the day at around 5:30 pm. My meal included some canned salmon with sriracha sauce, a bowl of cauliflower rice with salt, pepper, and butter, sauerkraut, olives, almonds, and pumpkin seeds.

*Unless otherwise noted in my summaries, beverages during the day include black coffee, green tea, water, seltzer.

Tuesday

Exercise included 3 working sets of Kettlebell Goblet Squats, Bent Over Rows, Pushups Stability Ball Planks. I was also able to include plenty of stretching and foam roll activities, for around an hour of total exercise. Nutrition wise, I had a shorter fasting window overall, as I had a bulletproof coffee around 7:30 am on my way to work (information and recipe in previous blog post). My afternoon meal was around 5:30 pm, and included canned sardines, a bowl of cauliflower rice with salt, pepper, and butter, sauerkraut, olives, almonds, and pumpkin seeds.

Wednesday

Exercise was 45 minutes on my Nordic Track machine for cardio, with around 30 minutes of stretching beforehand. Today’s fasting window was around 18 hours, and eating window around 5 hours (1-6 pm). I took some grass fed beef sticks, and pumpkin seeds to work and ate around 1 pm. For dinner, I had some slow roasted salmon, a bowl of cauliflower rice, some olives with humus, and almonds.

Thursday

Exercise total included 3 sets of Kettlebell Deadlifts, Total Gym Chest Press, Bicep Curls, and Rows. I did some physical work around the house Thursday as well. I also was able to incorporate stretching and mobility work, total time 1 hour. For the morning, I fasted for around 15 hours, and had a bulletproof coffee around 9 am. My afternoon meal was around 12 noon, and included canned sardines, olives, almonds, and pumpkin seeds. I also had brussels sprouts with bacon, and a lemon check breast around 5:30 pm.

Friday

I started Friday morning with 45 minutes on the Nordic Track, with 30 minutes of mobility work before hand. I am planning around an 18 hour fasting window at the time of the post, with a treat meal later in the day due to some family time coming up and going out to eat.

Saturday/Sunday (The Plan)

I will plan for less fasting and a treat or two on Saturday, and more of a rest day physically. Sunday I will get back on plan, and also do some yard work for exercise.

Week 2 Challenges

A mini family get away can always pose a challenge when trying to work a plan related to health and fitness. It is easy to make excuses, and be undisciplined when fun events are scheduled. The way I met the challenge was to plan/”budget” my treats, and make sure to not skip any planned exercise days during the week leading up.

Week 2 Top Tips

Try and look for foods that are convenient, without sacrificing quality. For example, I have found a lot of good quality frozen prepared meals during my recent plan. I am defining good quality as a short ingredient list of all whole foods that I can easily identify, and free of artificial ingredients. Frozen meals can be a big time saver, whether you buy them prepared, or make them yourself and freeze portions for later.

Another tip is to celebrate small wins. Anytime you stick to your plan for a day, two days, 1 week, give yourself a pat on the back and some recognition! A month long program is only as good as the sum of individual days…completing your workout, stretching session, and meal planning is a big deal, so act like it!

Week 2 Compliance Grade

I will give myself a solid B+, just in anticipation of some treats I will have on the family weekend. I give myself high marks for the work week, and also my exercise routine given other demands on my time at work and at home this week.

Looking Ahead to Next Week

Next week includes more family time on the weekend! My plan is exercise Monday-Friday, and also sticking to my nutrition guidelines 100% Monday through mid-day Friday before another mini get away with family. Only 1 more week until Thanksgiving, this is an important stretch to push for the post season! See you next week.