The Holidays are upon us, which means holiday parties and sugar filled treats!

The average American packs on 7-15 lbs of ugly body fat from Thanksgiving to Christmas……

Scary!

The Holidays can also be a very stressful time, and we all know that stress only adds more pounds of body fat.

Here is the Strategy that we are using at Next Level Athletic Performance this year to help our clients out!

Holiday Survival Guide Challenge
For each of the 10 NUTRITION standards you meet in the outlined checklist below, you earn ONE point.
If your goal is to maintain your weight during the holidays, then you MUST achieve at least 5 total points each week.
If your goal is to reduce your weight and lose body fat during the holidays, then you MUST achieve at least 8 total points each week.

___ Did you say NO at least 90% of the time when the candy dish or plate of cookies was passed around the office or your workplace?
___ Instead of bringing a dessert or candy to work for everyone to enjoy , did you bring something more healthy like a veggie or fruit platter with a healthy dip? Make sure it’s festive – Use those green, red, orange and white veggies and fruits!
___ Did you skip the bread and breaded appetizers at holiday dinners and parties? Remember, bread and flour products are useless carbohydrates devoid of good nutrition.
___ Have you told yourself that sugar and sweet treats will kill you? Avoid eating sweet treats by eating protein: http://nextlevel.getprograde.com
___ Did you eat healthy, balanced meals containing protein, whole carbohydrates and fats the day of a holiday party instead of starving yourself and “saving” your calories?
___ Did you stay away from alcohol at 90% of your holiday events? Remember: alcohol causes your body to store fat and not be able to burn fat, and when you add sugar to it, it makes it even more detrimental.
___ Did you stick to mostly protein and veggies at holiday dinners and parties?
___ If you have to bake holiday treats over the next two months, did you bake something low in sugar and high in fiber, protein and healthy fat? Remember that artificial sweetened foods are not any better. Stick with less real sugar or use Stevia and you’re body will look better. Here are some healthy recipe ideas for you: http://nextlevel.getprograde.com
___ If you can’t exercise due to holiday commitments, did you keep your carbohydrate intake lower and focus mostly on proteins, vegetables and some fruits?
___ If you know you’re going to eat more carbs than your body needs at a holiday event, did you plan this into a carb cycling routine? The day prior, eat a lower carb diet, and then the day following, eat a no carb diet – Give yourself an extra point if you also did a damage control workout which can be found at www.nextlevelbeachbodybootcamp.com

Use the following workout checklist to stay on track during the holidays.
For each of the 10 fitness standards you meet in the outlined checklist below, you earn ONE point.
If your goal is to maintain your weight during the holidays, then you MUST achieve at least 5 total points each week.
If your goal is to reduce your weight and lose body fat during the holidays, then you MUST achieve at least 8 total points each week.
__ Did you set an appointment for all of your 3 available weekly bootcamp workouts just like you would for a work function or a family obligation?
__ Did you complete at least 2 out of 3 of your scheduled weekly bootcamp workouts?
__ If you missed a bootcamp workout, did you perform your own home/travel workout with both equipment and bodyweight exercises?
_ _If you had a sweet treat totaling at least 100 calories, did you perform 50 total burpees or 100 total squats in 5 minutes or less to best mitigate the damage? If you didn’t have a sweet treat, then give yourself a point here too!
__ If you only had 5 minutes to workout on a particular day, did you perform a 4-minute 20-10 Tabata Total Body Blast using Kettlebell Swings, Dumbbell Squat to Presses, Bodyweight Burpees, OR Band Squat to Rows ?
__ If you had a high carb/reward meal at a holiday event, did you perform a damage control workout before or after the event? If you didn’t have a high carb/reward meal then give yourself a point here too!
__ Did you perform at least 30-60 minutes of additional low to moderate intensity activity outside of your daily workout routine like walking the dog, doing recreational sports, or playing with the kids?
__ Did you perform 2-3 additional cardio interval workouts on non-bootcamp workouts to burn stubborn fat?
__ Did you perform daily corrective self-massage and stretching to improve tissue quality and flexibility, accelerate recovery, reduce the risk of injury, and feel better?

Let us know how you did by commenting below!