Every New Year’s Eve, many people around the world come up with a resolution to lead a healthy lifestyle and do something about their fitness. During the holiday season (from Christmas through the New Year), people tend to spend more time with their family, meaning that the focus is not on their workouts. An occasional cheat day is a completely normal thing, but during the holiday season, there’s a lot of food, so cheat days can easily turn into cheat weeks. All the work you’ve done to get in shape gets thrown away, but the worst part is that your motivation to stay fit might diminish.

It All Begins with Nutrition

Reducing calorie intake and proper diet is a good starting point. Most people are so busy that they don’t have time to work out while reducing their caloric intake. Even if you manage to hit the gym every day, you won’t see many results if your caloric intake isn’t in a deficit.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol earned its bad reputation from misinterpreted studies that were conducted from the 1950s to 1970s. The research results showed that raised cholesterol levels from a high intake of saturated animal fats are associated with higher rates of heart disease. Since then, it has been the biggest nutritional outcast. Recent studies point out that a healthy amount of cholesterol intake keeps the hormones balanced. Increasing your testosterone levels is a great way to burn excess fat (in combination with exercise), and you can do it by consuming cholesterol.

Carbohydrates

Unlike any other foods with carbohydrates, whole grains offer everything you need when your body is stressed due to strenuous workouts. They are high in fiber and nutrients, support healthy digestion, and reduce chronic inflammation. Also, a small amount of whole grains will prevent you from eating more because they will keep you fuller for longer.

Paleo, Keto, and All Plant-Based Diet

If you’re considering starting a paleo diet, you should know that it is not safe for everyone (doctors don’t know its effects on older adults, pregnant women, or children). Paleo diet involves eating foods that prehistoric people used to gather or hunt. It focuses on vegetables and fruits, fish, lean meat, herbs, eggs, herbs, and spices. Eliminating processed foods and added sugar, reducing calorie intake, increased protein consumption, and can lead to significant weight loss and health improvements.

When following a keto diet, you limit your carb intake to less than 10% of your total daily calorie intake. That way, you allow your body to enter the state of ketosis when your body switches to burning fat for fuel. Keto diet includes foods such as meat and poultry, low carb vegetables, seafood, cheese, eggs, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds, butter and cream, berries, and dark chocolate.

An all plant-based diet focuses on consuming foods primarily from plants. It includes vegetables and fruits, but also whole grains, legumes, oils, seeds, nuts, and beans. Great plant foods to eat before and after training are whole grains, fresh fruits, dried fruit, potatoes, large salads, veggie burgers, smoothies, etc.

What to Include in Your Diet

• No more sugar-loaded foods and beverages, such as fruit juices and sodas, snack foods, sugar-loaded sauces, flavored coffee, canned fruit, etc. Cut out as much sugar as you can.
• When consuming carbs, only eat whole grains.
• Drink more water – if you’re exercising and dieting daily, you must stay hydrated.

The human body needs to get enough nutrients, minerals, and vitamins to use as fuel, or it will keep holding the fat as a source of necessary fuel. Once you eat well and drink enough water, your body will begin to shed the excess fat.

CBD and Its Benefits with Recovery

Rest and recovery days are essential to one’s fitness for both psychological and physiological reasons. During rest, muscles get the chance to repair, rebuild, and strengthen. After a daily workout or a whole day of being active, you will feel that muscle soreness that can impact your ability to keep going. CBD is known to have anti-inflammatory properties and can help you improve your post-workout recovery. In 2018, Frontiers in Neurology published a review of 132 original studies conducted with CBD. It has shown that CBD can help improve mobility and pain and reduce inflammation in patients with multiple sclerosis. It is neuroprotective, antipsychotic, antiemetic, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory.

The best time to start getting back in shape is now. Be consistent and be prepared to stick it out, and all the hard work will be worth it.