Fat Season Is Here

What is fat season you ask?

Well, “Fat Season” starts right after Halloween and runs all the way through the winter months. Most people gain unnecessary weight due to lower activity levels and overconsumption of calories during the winter months. Some parents are eating their kid’s Halloween candy right now while reading this article.

Not you of course!

The cold weather brings on bad habits that stay with you going into the new year if you don’t put them in check now.

Holidays = Weight Gain

Think about it. You have Halloween, Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, Holiday work parties, Family gatherings, Christmas, and New Years parties to attend to. These are just some of the holidays during the fall and winter months that we love to enjoy.

I am not exempt from indulging in some of the great holiday meals and deserts during the holidays. To me the actual meal on thanksgiving or Christmas day will not make you gain unnecessary weight. The habits you choose during the winter months will either help you stay on track of your fitness goals or help you gain unwanted weight. If the bad habits are not put in check you could carry that weight over into the new year.

How can you avoid putting on extra pounds during fat season?

The first thing you have to do is avoid increasing your calorie intake. There will be work events and other parties during the winter months that you will want to attend. Never feel like you can’t enjoy yourself. You can go to these parties but you have to incorporate some rules. Without a plan, it will be easy upping your calorie intake without you even realizing it.

#1 prioritize your daily nutrition

Being prepared is the best way to have control of your nutrition. Meal prepping is the answer.

You don’t have to prep every single meal you eat, but I would say lunch and healthy snacks are the most important when it comes to helping you avoid bad food choices. Most people have no clue what they will eat for lunch each day. So what do they do? They go out to eat with their co-workers for lunch. I can guarantee most of those meals are not the healthiest choices! Also, I can’t imagine how much money they spend each day on food.

You can avoid much of this by having healthy, prepped, nutritious meals with you or readily available. A couple of healthy snacks like an apple, nuts, or rice cakes will help when you get those midday cravings. You have to stay away from the vending machine and that one co-worker who always has candy on their desk. The key when it comes to meal prepping is to actually eat the foods you prep!

When you cook at home you can control how much oil, salt, and sugar is added to your food. You have no control when you go to a restaurant unless you specifically tell the chef to prepare you food in a certain way. Again, you also spend lots of money eating out every day and your calories will inevitably be higher. You have to control what you can control!

#2 Eat before you go

When you go to a holiday party one way to avoid over eating will be to eat before you go. Once you get to the party you can get a small plate or just taste some of the hors d’oeuvre. You will have to dig deep and be disciplined enough not to over indulge. The idea of eating before you go is to already have food on your stomach. That way you don’t show up hungry and ready to destroy everything insight.

#3 Minimize empty calories

Alcohol, juices, sodas, chips, crackers, cookies, sugary and creamy coffee are all examples of empty calories. Empty calories come from anything you eat that doesn’t have a nutritional value but isn’t calorie free — basically junk foods. During fat season you have to keep these types of foods to a minimum. Empty calories are the easiest way to put on unwanted weight. You eat them quickly and they do not get you full. Most have no fiber, so it’s extremely easy to over eat on them. I always tell my clients to try to eat a whole bag of apples for a snack. They look at me like I’m crazy. We all know that would be nearly impossible, but it is not hard to eat a big bag of chips. Apples are full of water and fiber and you have to really chew in order to break them down. On the other hand, chips, cookies, candy and other empty calories just melt on your tongue. So pay attention to the foods that are around you at these parties and during the day. Grab some of the “real food” (veggies ,fruit, meats, and fish) if those foods are available.

#4 Keep your alcohol intake low

I have been alcohol free now for over 6 years. I thank God for giving me the strength to overcome something that has had a hold on my family for as long as I can remember. During the holidays I used to over-indulge in alcohol just because it was the festive thing to do. If it was a holiday party, Thanksgiving or Christmas, I would partake in some good bourbon. Nothing is wrong with having an occasional drink, however my drinking was a little more than just one glass. I would use the excuse that I didn’t drink that much, but whenever there was a party I did a little too much. The problem with drinking alcohol is the empty calories that you get from it, especially mixed drinks! A lot of people actually drink most of the weight they put on. Fat season is time when most get a lot of their calories from alcohol. Try your best to minimize how much you drink when you are out enjoying yourself. Don’t drink your calories.

#5 Prioritize your physical activity

Fat season is during the fall and winter months. Most find themselves indoors more during this time of the year than when the weather was warmer. It’s colder AND the days are shorter. It’s much easier to just say, I can just go workout tomorrow, or I will go walking another day when it’s not so cold. I get it. It is much harder to just get up and go during the winter months. You really have to plan your days and your physical activity. It has to be a top priority! If not you will easily find yourself living a more sedentary type of lifestyle. Less physical activity equals less calories burned. Less calories burned means more weight gained. It’s easy math at this point. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight, so plan your workouts and stick to them.

Make time to do cardio with your family. Go hiking, ice skating, any type of activity that gets you moving. Get a personal trainer, join a boot camp class, or get an accountability partner. Just put in place something or someone that will hold you accountable if you do decide to skip a workout. Someone should be able to check your attendance. If it’s just you, it will not be a problem if you miss a day, right? It’s great to have someone else checking in on you to see why you did not get it in today.

#6 Get your NEAT on

N.E.A.T (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise.” It can range from the energy expended walking to work, typing, performing yard work, cleaning the house, fidgeting, etc.

During fat season it is very important that you find different ways to burn calories. It’s very easy to just sit around while staying out of the cold. You have to intentionally keep moving. Clean the basement, do chores, play twister with the kids. Do some type of moving that isn’t necessarily a workout. The goal is to avoid being sedentary. Simply put, the more you move the more you put yourself in a state of burning calories. With the overconsumption of food during fat season, it is very important that we prioritize our activity level. Don’t be lazy, move!

#7 Eliminate all Excuses

I have heard it all before. I don’t have enough time to workout. It was my cousin’s birthday so I had to eat some cake. They didn’t have anything else to eat at work so I had to eat the pizza. It’s a holiday party that happens once a year, c’mon I had to have a few drinks. Excuses, excuses, excuses. Don’t allow yourself to live like this. You are in control. If you plan your day and prepare your meals no one can make you mess up. It is a choice to eat bad. It’s a choice to skip a workout. If you can watch Netflix, you have time for a 30-minute workout. Living a healthier lifestyle has to be a top priority.

This fat season I want you to prioritize your nutrition and your fitness. Success is in your routine and it’s time to have control of fat season. Let’s enjoy the holiday season this year without the bad habits that carry over into the new year.

You got this!

~Djuan