A Plan for a Health Holiday Season

Catching Up on the Plan

For those just joining is, this is a blog post series following my plan to have a happy, healthy holiday season. For more information on the plan and how it is going, please take a look at my previous post. The theme related to Football post season is really resonating for me right now, since the most important Football is played in November and December, as teams are trying to make the playoffs. It is also important to note that teams do not have to be perfect at this time of the year to be successful. Championship teams might make some bad plays, or even lose a game in November or December, but the sum of their preparation puts them in position to be successful when it matters the most. The same can be said for maintaining our health and fitness with Holiday temptations around…consistency is your friend, but you do not have to be perfect to have success!

Planning for Week 3

I am really excited for week 3 as I am setting plans for week 3! Weeks 1 and 2 have seen a fair amount of success, and I am looking forward to continued progress. Meal planning for the week is going to include continued grain, sugar, and processed oil free eating, please see week 1 for my full list of guidelines I am committing to if you are new to this series. For exercise, I will make sure to get my 5 organized exercise days in Monday-Friday this week. The weekend will include some family time and travel, so I want to make sure I am sticking to my plan in case the weekend does not present opportunities to train like I want to.

Week 3 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 23 hour fast, eating my one meal of the day at around 5:30 pm. My meal included some left over pot roast with carrots, onions, and cauliflower rice, sauerkraut, olives, macadamia nuts, 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, Total Gym Rows, Curls, Chest presses, and also Reserve Crunches. 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, some left over pot roast with carrots, onions, and cauliflower rice, sauerkraut, olives, macadamia nuts, 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 made myself a small bowl of natural peanut butter, coconut oil, coconut flakes, hemp hearts, pumpkin seeds, and sea salt mixed together. For dinner, I had a bowl with sliced avocado and sauerkraut, and a bacon wrapped, cheese stuffed chicken breast (frozen from Costco, all compliant ingredients). I also had some pumpkin seeds and coconut flakes.

Thursday

Exercise today was 3 sets of kettlebell swings, 1/2 get ups, arm bars, and double kettlebell military presses. I also included 30 minutes of stretching and mobility work before exercise. Today’s fasting window was around 18 hours, and eating window around 5 hours (1-6 pm). I took avocados, and 3 grass fed beef sticks to work with me. For dinner, I had a bowl with sliced avocado and sauerkraut, and smoked salmon with some cauliflower rice, and some pumpkin seeds. I also had some pumpkin seeds and coconut flakes.

Friday

I started Friday morning with 47 minutes on the Nordic Track, with 30 minutes of mobility work before hand. I had my first meal of the day around 11 am for a 17 hour fasting window, the meal included some pecans, a frozen grain free meal of chicken enchiladas, and some sauerkraut. I am also planning to have a few treats as part of my meal this evening.

Saturday and 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 3 Challenges

The main challenge this week was not to ease up on my plan, given that I knew I had a day off Friday and a mini get away coming up. It is certainly ok to have some treats and kick back/relax, but the trap I nearly fell into was allowing that mindset to creep into the week sooner than I had planned. I went back to my analogy of treating meals like a budget; if it is not in the budget today, you don’t get it! But, if it is in the budget for tomorrow, make sure to enjoy it 🙂

Week 3 Tips

Make time to exercise. During this program, I’ve made sure to get to sleep at a reasonable hour, so I wake up and exercise before work. Personally, after work/ evening workouts are not my thing, my energy levels are not as high at that point. In the evenings, I also pick up my son from day care, and have some time I spend with him that I don’t want to adjust/fit work outs into. Think about peak energy times for you, demands on your time/schedule, and carve out some time to exercise. Put exercise on your calendar like a work meeting, and don’t make exceptions!

Week 3 Compliance Grade

I will give myself a solid B+ this week, again in anticipation of some treats during the weekend. For the work week, I was very happy with my routine and discipline.

Looking Ahead to Thanksgiving Week!

Thanksgiving week is going include 1 Holiday, Thanksgiving on Thursday! I am going to stick with my plan on all other days, and attempt a multi-day fast before the Holiday. Additionally, I’m not going to skip any exercise days next week. My plan is to exercise Monday- Friday, even on Thanksgiving!

As always, I will report back on how it goes, see you next week!