The party season is upon us – you’ll be painting the town red on the 31st, and once the new year rolls around, there will probably be a ton of lunches and dinners to host and attend. Celebrity trainer Abbas Ali shares a few tips to staying fit so that the party season doesn’t kill your fitness progress!
As the holiday season is upon us, it is important to remember that when you enjoy the moments of celebration and sharing, avoiding unhealthy foods – and drinks! – becomes impossible. What do you do when you have a lot of it, thus disturbing your daily nutrition schedule? Below are 5 things you should do the ensure that all the parties don’t take you away too much from your fitness goals.
Do not skip your training
Do not skip your training, especially when you know you’re not going to skip the food and drinks. Do a full body combine training or a metabolic conditioning class, as you need to keep the metabolic rate high in order to burn the indulgence.
If you are still feeling lazy to hit the gym, do a quick workout at home:
10 to 20 jump ropes
10 to 20 jumping jacks
10 to 20 mountain climbers
10 to 20 air squats
10 to 20 walking lunges
10 to 20 crunches
10 to 20 burpees
Do the entire routine for 20 minutes, then end it with a 1 minute plank.
Portion size
In order to control your portion size, drink 2 glasses of cold water pre-meal – the thermogenic effect helps the body to burn more calories. Wait for the salad: fill your stomach 60% with that and 30% main course in which you opt for pulses and veggies more, and 10% dessert. Don’t skip anything and enjoy every bit, but smartly.
Use an air fryer
For foodies, the best gift you can give yourself is an air fryer. If you’re hosting parties at home, you can have samosas or chips without frying them in oil – your guests will be happy too!
Choose healthier options
A healthier option for sweets would be skimmed milk and brown rice kheer, phirni, jaggery and nuts bake balls. Choose dates and dry fruits and fruits over any type of sweet. Other options to explore are low-fat whole grain breads (instead of white), oatmeal, low-fat granola and brown rice.
Keep it natural
Avoid consuming aerated drinks as they are no good. Rather, have coconut water, lime water and/or sip cold water. You can also have a fresh orange/watermelon juice.
Celebrity trainer Abbas Ali has been in the fitness industry since the past 15 years and has been personally training Shahid Kapoor for the longest time. He’s the Founder/Director of Bodyholics and has recently opened his new lifestyle hub, ‘The Bodhyholics Studio’ in Mumbai.