You have heard, or probably repeated, the seasonal statements … “it’s only once a year - I will get back on track on January 1st”, “we all go a little crazy and over-indulge at this time of the year”, “calories don’t count over the holidays!”
So, we enjoy the festivities, gathering with friends and family, attending corporate events, mindlessly grab. and munch on, the endless amount of high sugar, high fat, high sodium festive edibles that are gifted to us, or placed around the workplace! We go out for dinner to enjoy cocktails, wine and beer!
Next thing you realize, you have been snacking all day, eating heavy meals after work and at the weekends, and consuming probably more alcohol than you normally would, which in turn, lowers your inhibitions when it comes to saying “no” to that extra helping of dessert!
Did you know that during this official season of over-indulgence, the typical American will pack on up to 10 lbs between Thanksgiving and Christmas! And whilst you may think that will be easy to lose come January 1st, it could actually take up to six months to shed those extra pounds!
First of all, let’s break it down (literally)! After you have gorged on a massive festive feast, your stomach will begin to secrete hydrochloric acid in order to begin the digestive process. The more you eat, the more acid your body will produce. This can make its way up the esophagus and the next thing you know … ouch .. heartburn!
Next, you will begin to feel sluggish, gassy and bloated. Why is this? Eating a large meal will slow down your digestion and the food will take more time to be processed. The body will send more blood to your gastrointestinal tract to help with the digestion, thus leaving less blood available to transport oxygen and nutrients to the other parts of your body.
As you are aware, many of the festive snacks and meals contain a lot of carbohydrates and sugar, which causes your blood sugar to spike! When your blood sugar rises above your normal level, you will release an excess of the hormone insulin, and you will get an energy spike. This short lived spike will be followed by that inevitable crash.
As you will not be burning all of that additional energy (calories) as fuel, the body will then begin to store it as fat.
Your body thinks you don’t need all that energy as fuel and it starts storing more of it as fat.
By the time you wake up in the morning, you will feel very hungry and this is due to the pancreas working hard overnight in an attempt to process all of the food (and alcohol). You will possibly also have a headache, brain fog and fatigue to go along with that hunger.
Of course, you don’t want to feel anti-social or deprived over the holidays! But you can be mindful of what you are putting in your mouth. I always find it helpful to equate what you are eating to just how long you will need to exercise to burn off those additional calories.
Let’s consider that amongst all of the incredible benefits of kettlebell training, one of the most notable is that it is a major calorie burner. You can burn, on average, around 20 calories per minute with high intensity kettlebell training.
Let’s look at the typical holiday snacks and meals and their nutritional content!
Christmas Cookies (Decorated) - 420 Kcal, 11g Fat, 74g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 5g Protein = (21 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
Christmas Dinner (Generic) - Consisting of approximately (1,500 - 6,000 kcal depending upon portion sizes) = 1 Hour 15 Mins - 5 Hours of Kettlebell Training!
Roasted Turkey (Leg) - 416 Kcal , 13.3g Fat, 0g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 69.8g Protein Brioche Roll - 220 Kcal, 7g Fat, 31g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 7g Protein
Homestyle Stuffing (4oz) - 110 Kcal, 5g Fat, 15g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 2g Protein
Creamy Mash Potatoes (7oz) - 237 Kcal, 8.8g Fat, 35.5g Carbs, 3.2g Fiber, 4.2g Protein
Homestyle Gravy (¼ Cup) - 25 Kcal, 1g Fat, 3g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 1g Protein Cranberry Sauce (1 Tbsp) - 26 Kcal, 0g Fat, 6.7g Carbs, 0.2g Fiber, 0g Protein
Apple Pie with Cream - 460 Kcal, 23g Fat, 60g Carbs, 3g Fiber, 6g Protein
Wine (Glass) - 123 Kcal, 0g Fat, 3.4g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 0.1g Protein (6 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
Beer (Can/Bottle) - 153 Kcal, 0g Fat, 12.6g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 1.6g Protein (8 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
Eggnog (Cup) - 343 Kcal, 19g Fat, 34.5g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 9.7g Protein (17 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
Reeses Christmas Trees - 90 Kcal, 11g Fat, 18g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 4g Protein (4.5 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
Christmas Cake (Slice) - 200 Kcal, 13g Fat, 16g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 2g Protein (10 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
Christmas Pastry (Serving) - 374 Kcal, 17g Fat, 44g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 10g Protein (19 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
Brownies (2” Square) - 112 Kcal, 7g Fat, 12g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 1.5g Protein (6 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
Holiday Ham (3oz) - 150 Kcal, 8g Fat, 0g Carbs, 0g Fiber, 16g Protein (7.5 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
Belgian Chocolate Santa (1 Piece) - 300 Kcal, 18g Fat, 30g Carbs, 1g Fiber, 4g Protein (15 Mins of High Intensity Kettlebell Training)
That being said, you don’t want to “conserve” calories all day in order to over-indulge in your festive feast. The reason being is that it causes your metabolism to slow down as it interprets this as going into starvation mode, thus holding on to as many calories as possible. A better option would be a low fat, protein rich breakfast, a light lunch and a moderate holiday meal.
The good news is that you can stay on track this year with our FREE 10 Day Fat Blasting Kettlebell Challenge. With 10 full, follow-along workouts that can be done anywhere with internet access, a small amount of room and a kettlebell! Each workout is 45- 60 minutes in length and easy to follow. Enjoy support from your fellow challengers in the group chat room, and the Krush Team is also on standby to answer any questions or concerns you may have!
The holidays can be an expensive time of year, but this Fat Blaster challenge is completely FREE ~ it is our gift to you!
No kettlebell? No problem - get one delivered to your door here and use coupon code BESTSALE30 for up to 30% Discount off of select kettlebells:
To learn more, please visit my website at www.KrushWorkout.com. Packed full of important information, kettlebell challenges, full, follow-along kettlebell workouts, teacher training and certification, online courses and an online store where you can purchase kettlebells and fitness apparel and accessories. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Tik Tok for more great training tips.