Holiday Eating Survival Guide...

As Christmas and New Years approach I have been thinking about my diet during the holidays. (My wife and I are taking the kids to Mexico for a five to days to an all-inclusive resort so my year end nutritional issues are even bigger than they normally would be). I wanted to wrote a post about surviving the holidays without sabotaging all of your hard work. I found this article from Crossfit Athens and decided to share it.

"Many of you have heard me talk about the 80/20 rule before. For those that haven't, it states that 80% of our rewards come from 20% of our actions. For example, in business, 80% of sales are derived from 20% of the customer base. Conversely, 80% of your headaches come from 20% of your customers"

"An even more CrossFit-esque example: 80% of our gains in strength, flexibility, stamina, cardio endurance, speed, power, accuracy, agility, coordination and balance come from about 20% of the exercises we utilize. Ever wonder why squats, deadlifts, push ups, and pull ups (or some variation of these, ie. wall ball) show up so often? Now you know"

"Taking this principle of 80/20, we can infer that 80% of our gains in the nutritional realm of health come from about 20% of our habbits. Getting rid of sugar and junk food, drinking more water, and eatting more fruits and vegetables is powerful medicine. It will increase the average persons health more so than deciding to take fish oil supplements (or any supplements), worrying about macro-nutrient timing, or getting your Zone block portions correct"

"So how can we put this info to use over the holidays? I'm glad you asked".

"When you're at the office Christmas party this year, hold back on the sugar laiden snacks. Go for a handful of peanuts instead, or even better hit up the meat and cheese tray along with a handful off of the veggie platter. (Yes you can have the Ranch too. Just remember you should still be able to taste your veggies. You're not adding crunch to the Ranch!)"

"As much as possible, drink water. Even if it's as simple as throwing it in every other drink. (Plus an eggnog hangover is just not worth it)".

"When socializing, do so away from the food. We are all mindless eaters. Ever notice how you go through 3 baskets of chips at the Mexican resteraunt? Out of site, out of mind. It works, I promise"!

"There you have it. Remember, 80% of results come from 20% of the effort. Make the simple things work for you!"

From Crossfit Athens