How To Recover From Your Thanksgiving Food Coma

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Overeating, it happens. If you tried your hardest to not overindulge during Thanksgiving weekend but couldn't resist all the delicious food, don't panic. As sluggish and heavy as you may feel, you are able to reset and recover. Celebrity fitness trainer and an Instagram influencer with over 2 million followers Massy Arias talks to us about how to get back on track and prepare for the rest of the holidays to come.

What is the biggest fitness / health mistake you see people make during the holiday season?

One of the biggest mistakes I see people do during the holidays is the mentality of letting themselves go completely with the excuse of a new year's resolution. A lot of people choose to stop physical activities and eating healthy altogether and try to convince themselves that when the new year starts they will make a change. The problem with this is that a lot of factors including weather and seasonal comfort foods completely shift our routines making it much more difficult to stay on track. Stopping altogether will only worsen the amount of weight gain during this time and stop the momentum you had with exercise. By the time January comes, your body will have to regain the physical fitness you had before and lose a lot more weightthan it should have, if you didn't stop altogether.

If someone is trying to recover from Thanksgiving day and all the leftovers during the weekend, what is your best food / health tips to get that bloated feeling away?

The best tip to get rid of bloating is large amounts of water paired with lemon. It will help you flush out all of the toxins and sodium. Always be sure to keep your sodium intake low. Add natural diuretics like asparagus, brussel sprouts and apple cider vinegar [to your diet], which can be either in your water or as a dressing for your salad.

What's the best workout to get your energy up and running after the holiday weekend?

To say there is a specific workout that is best to get you back up after you've been sedentary would be a bit misleading since we are all completely different and might have different starting points. My suggestion is simple: slowly come out of your comfort zone. So many people make the mistake to jump start cold turkey with a new routine that demands more than their bodies can take. For these jump start diets, many people find it extremely difficult to adjust and within the first few days end up quitting because it seems unrealistic.

If you were completely sedentary for the past year or just stopped completely during the holidays, following a program or routine that progressively challenges you and gets you moving will be a great way to kickstart your new year's resolution. For example, if you are a runner, you don't want to start running 4-5 miles at a time since it demands so much from you. Instead, set goals for yourself like running or jogging for 30 minutes a day and once your body starts adapting, increase the intensity. Your primary goal should be sticking to your program since you will be adapting to healthier lifestyle causing your body to change.

As we prepare for more dishes to come for the December holidays, how could someone avoid overeating?

One of the best tricks to avoid overeating is to stay hydrated at all times. Our bodies cannot distinguish what is hunger from thirst and while we might think we are hungry, in actuality it just could be that we are dehydrated. Moreover, eating small meals throughout the day packed with lean protein before a big dinner is also a great way to not overeat. On holidays, many people don't eat much throughout the day and generally wait for the time they can indulge into those holiday comfort foods causing them to overeat. Having these small meals will help keep your body satisfied and help you make the right decisions as to how much food you should put on your plate. Since you are not starving, your judgment won't be clouded and you will only eat what satisfies you.

Be sure to check out Massy's # MA30Day challenge program at massyarias.com!