holiday weight gain - I Love Bicycling

The holiday season brings family and friends together over meals and as cyclists we love to indulge in copious amounts of food, and treat ourselves to some (or lots) of festive drinks. However with all the rum and eggnog, and mashed potatoes and gravy it is all to easy to pack on some unwanted weight in a short amount of time. It is important to maintain some holiday cycling so you can treat yourself to your family’s traditions, but there are some ways to help make sure you aren’t overzealous and end up with weight gain you regret in the new year!

Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

It can be easy to let your fitness and exercise regime go by the wayside when company arrives and you have to organize dinners and events. However there are some tips to help you maintain some of you cycling fitness over the holidays.

Do Something Active Daily

Try to get in 30-60 minutes of activity each day. This will keep your body used to the exercise stimulus.

Set your bike up on the trainer downstairs or in a garage where it won’t bother your family and watch an episode of a show, or the news each morning. That way your holiday cycling is done for the day while everyone else is slowly rising and you can spend the remainder of the day visiting with the family.

Be Flexible

In all reality, you’re probably not going to get in a solid three hours of riding in every day, and that’s okay. Be realistic and flexible with your goals and expectations. Shoveling snow is a great strength workout and good for the upper body and core. Offer to shovel your street for your neighbors as well! They will appreciate it and you will get in a strength workout.

Go to the Gym or a Class

Hitting the gym is a convenient way to maintain fitness as well as bond with family members. Go as a group and get your sweat on together so you can enjoy the turkey later. Try out a spin class to get your legs spinning.

Head out for an outdoor ride or commute to satisfy your holiday cycling. If your town isn’t too covered in snow, it is a good option to commute for errands to maintain some cycling fitness.

Don’t Stress About Holiday Meals

Everything in moderation is usually the way to go at all times of the year, so keep it going through the holidays. Treat yourself to that piece of pie, a beer and butter and gravy on your potatoes. You deserve to participate in your family’s feast and not to feel guilty while doing it.

Avoid going for seconds. Most often loading up the plate multiple times is the pitfall for weight gain.

Enjoy the desserts and rich drinks, but these are calorie dense so bare that in mind when going for drink number 4.

Eat and drink slowly. This will fill you up, and allow you to properly taste and digest the food.

Enjoy it! Don’t feel guilty, food is good for you and ultimately will be used for your holiday cycling fuel.

Try to relax and enjoy the holidays. Do not stress if you miss and training ride, or have one too many drinks. Try to maintain some holiday cycling, and that way you can enjoy all of the delicious treats that come with this festive time of year!

The end of the year is a time of revelry, and with that revelry comes indulgence and over-consumption. The weather is turning for the worst too making riding a bit more difficult because of condition and not wanting to suffer through bad weather. Devising some tactics to deal with holiday weight gain can keep you happier and healthier along with maintaining your fitness through this season that is fun and fraught at the same time.

Indulgence and Holiday Weight Gain

There are sweets at work. There is alcohol at the party. There is a feast at your family’s house. It is hard to handle all the indulgence. Find some strategies that work for you to enjoy yourself but also to keep holiday weight gain to a minimum.

It is okay to have treats and delicious food. Make sure whatever you are consuming is really worth it and increases your enjoyment of the moment.
Before going into a situation, set limits for yourself. An open ended commitment to eating and drinking will not end well.
Be honest with yourself when you are full or you have had enough to drink.
If there are a lot of options, take small portions so you can get a taste of everything you might enjoy. Then you can make a decision about what you really like and go back for more (if you are not violating the previous point).
There is no obligation to force feed yourself. Remember that peer and societal pressure is a thing, even when you are an adult and make a conscious decision to ignore the pressure.
Choose to fill up on the healthier options on offer – vegetables, fruit and other non-processed and less calorie-dense foods. It will make you feel fuller without dropping a calorie bomb in your gut.
Hydration levels affect your perception of satiety. Make sure you are well hydrated while partying the month away. An additional bonus to good hydration is that it will help you cope better with alcohol in your system.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line to battle holiday weight gain is to keep pedaling or staying active in some way. If you are already riding regularly, find a way that you can continue even as the daylight fades, temperatures drop and precipitation increases. A good set of lights might help to keep you on the road in the dark; nothing beats them to see or be seen. All the high visibility colors and reflectors do nothing compared to active illumination.

When the weather is sure to make you uncomfortable, set up a space indoors that you can ride in on a trainer or rollers that will keep you motivated. You will need a fan and some sort of entertainment. Staring at the wall or your bike computer the whole time sets you up for failure. Music, movies and friends make the time go by much faster.

Prepare a manageable schedule for yourself that you can stick to for your rides. A commitment will keep you on the bike and keep the holiday weight gain at bay. The more you ride, the more you can indulge, within reason of course. If you are lucky enough to have a schedule that allows you to ride more than usual at this time of year, the easier it is to burn off those treats. But beware – those treats do not provide optimal fuel for training.

Other Activity

The winter is also a great time to throw in some other activities to your exercise program to stave off holiday weight gain. Find something that is interesting to you that you may not get to do when it is nice out and you are more committed to riding. Again, make a regular schedule so you can stay fit and keep burning those extra calories you may be eating. The activity could also be a nice mental break from all of the riding; when you come back to riding, it will be fresh and exciting again.

You Already Know

You are already aware of what the end of the year can do to your body. It is hard to handle the indulgence and holiday weight gain if you do not have a plan. Make a plan and try to stick to it. You will be even more committed to the plan if you write it down and tell others about it – this works for anything. This will lead to a happier and healthier season, and that is what it is all about, right?