6 Simple Ways to Stay in Shape without Sacrifice during the Holidays

By Adrian| December 21st, 2023

Enjoy the Holidays Without Neglecting Your Fitness

Christmas time is approaching fast and is nearly upon us.


If you’re the kind of person who wants to enjoy the holidays and not completely neglect your health and fitness, I’m going to share some useful tips that might help you.

I’ve been down the slippery road of pressing the pause button over the Christmas and to be honest, after one day of eating all around me, I felt like complete sh*t the next day!

If you want to do that, go ahead – you do you!

Personally, I didn’t enjoy feeling like I was almost pregnant for a few days and the constant need of needing to sleep or take a nap after every meal.

So hopefully these tips can help with having guilt-free enjoyment over the holidays.

1. Sleep More:

This might surprise you as my first point but Christmas time is a great opportunity for you to recharge the batteries.

You wouldn’t let the battery die on your phone so don’t let your internal battery dwindle either.

If you’ve had a long year at work and have the luxury of having a couple of days off over the festive period, be sure to catch up on some sleep and give your body a chance to reset.

On top of this, the quality of our sleep can potentially have a huge impact on the quality of our food intake the next day.

Ghrelin is your hunger hormone. It sends signals to the brain when you feel hungry.

Leptin – another hormone sends signals to the brain when we are full.

A poor night’s sleep can have a huge impact on your ghrelin and leptin hormones.

How? Lack of sleep results in us needing more food (to help keep us awake) and when we do eat the food, we tend to need to eat more before we feel full.

Furthermore, the type of food we crave when we are tired tends to be foods that are higher in sugar and heavily processed.

Research has shown that a lack of sleep can result in you overeating by up to 25% more the next day.

By using the holidays as a time to catch up on sleep, you’ll likely be less hungry the next day and you won’t be constantly craving foods high in sugar.

2. Eat Your Vegetables First:

We may eat more around Christmas than at any other point in the year. Instead of having a restrictive mindset – I like to think in terms of abundance.

When you’re eating with your family, get the vegetables on your plate first.

Make them fill anywhere from one third to one half of your plate before you start dishing out the rest. Vegetables are really filling, which will make you less inclined to fill up on everything else.

I would suggest eating your vegetables first before you dig into the creamed potatoes!

3. Maintain Your Normal Eating Pattern:

This is something I need to work on also but space out your meals and try maintain an eating pattern.

This is particularly challenging over the holidays because if you’re out of routine, you likely will have more free time on your hands. Try to maintain your normal eating schedule where you’re eating at the same or similar times as you would be when you’re working.

And remember - eat because you are hungry, not because you’re bored. Get out of the house during the day and try to engage in some family activities.

When you are eating, try to eat alongside your family and have a conversation. Eating with company will slow down your eating rate and you will be less likely to overeat because you’re eating slower.

If you are going to have some sweets, chocolates etc. try save them to the latter part of the day to help manage sugar cravings. Starting your day off with some cheesecake or a leftover selection box is a sure way for you to crave sugar for the rest of the day.

If/When that time comes that you want something sweet, DO NOT eat from an open tin of Celebrations or USA Biscuits! Whatever you intend to eat, put it on a plate.

Determine your portion beforehand and stick to your word. If you say you’re going to have a slice of trifle, a portion of ice-cream or two scoops of creamed potatoes, have it guilt free. But either way, pre-determine your portions and be true to your word.

I always find having a hot drink after my meals or even alongside the above-mentioned treats is a good way to reduce overeating because it gives you something to sip on.

By the time you’ll have finished drinking your hot drink, you’ve delayed the urge to go for seconds by ten to fifteen minutes and you’ll likely feel fuller.

A bonus tip would be to go for a 10-minute walk after every meal. One of my favourite ways to help prevent me from overeating.

4. Out of Sight, Out of Mind:

If food is visible it is more likely to be eaten.

So wrap it up, put it away and keep it out of sight. That way you’ll be far less likely to eat it.

How often do we pass through the kitchen with no intention of eating but end up grazing on something nice we saw?

Again, this can be more challenging over the Christmas but it does work – keep nutrient dense foods more visible and less nutrient dense foods invisible – put them at the back of the press so you won’t be constantly thinking about eating them.

5. Movement:

Let’s be real - Christmas is a time when we do eat more food than normal. So put those extra calories to use and try to move more.

Get outside for a walk to clear the head. Go for a cycle or a run. Strength train at home if you have the equipment or do a bodyweight circuit if not.

Try to do something.

Everyone’s different but for me, I know that days that I train and exercise are better than days when I don’t.

Mentally, I feel much better and my mood is always lifted. I don’t plan on hitting any PR’s or committing to a rigorous program over Christmas week but I do intend on continuing to train.

I have found over the years, the extra food can act as fuel to your sessions and give you a good pump!

A tip would be to get you’re training done early in the day.

You may have a whole bunch of family obligations over the holidays, but they don't normally start in the morning.

That's a perfect time to start early and ensure you will exercise. If you choose to wait until the afternoon, far too often some unexpected family thing interferes.

I find the later I leave it over the holidays, the more likely I am to put it off. Get it done in the morning if possible and you’ll be less likely to hear the “Oh come on! It’s Christmas” remarks from your family.


6. Prevent Hangovers:

The purpose of this blog post isn’t to educate you on the negative effects of alcohol. Instead, I’d rather teach you how to mitigate the negative effects alcohol can have on your body.

If you do plan on having some alcohol over the Christmas with family and friends, here are five strategies you can implement to help prevent a bad hangover the next day or days!

1). Hydration: Stay hydrated throughout the day in the lead up to your night out.

Before you start consuming alcohol, if your urine is a clear colour, that’s a good indication you’ve kept yourself hydrated up to that point of the day.

2). Don’t drink on an Empty Stomach: We all know the dangers of drinking on an empty stomach so I would recommend having 2-3 high protein and fibre rich meals throughout the day before you start drinking alcohol. This will reduce the likelihood of you to grab a takeaway later also.

o Sources of Protein: Turkey, Chicken, Pork Loin, Lean Mince and Steak, Eggs, Tofu, Quorn, Protein Powders and Greek Yogurt:

o Sources of Fibre: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Kale, Spinach, Brussel Sprouts, Carrots and most vegetables. Also beans, legumes and berries.

3). Rehydrate: The following morning (or even better - after the night out if you think of it!), drink a glass of water first thing to help you to rehydrate. You probably won’t want to do this but I always find adding a squeeze of lemon helps and makes drinking some extra water more tolerable.

4). Eat a Breakfast: Alcohol can lower blood sugars so eat a good breakfast and have a hot drink alongside it the following morning. My breakfast of choice is always some form of protein such as eggs and some good quality healthy fats like avocado’s.

5). Supplement with Milk Thistle: Milk thistle may have some potential benefits of relieving an upset stomach the following day.


The Takeaways:

I for one don’t plan on following a rigorous workout routine over the Christmas nor do I intend on being super restrictive with my diet.

You don't have to eat like a monk to improve your physique and not gain weight over the holidays!

But I still intend to train as part of my routine without taking away from the enjoyment of the holidays.

I like to do different styles of workouts I’d usually never do that are quick and effective.

Here are the takeaways from today’s post:

1. Sleep more

2. Eat your vegetables first

3. Maintain your normal eating pattern

4. Out of sight, out of mind

5. Movement is medicine

6. Prevent hangover

And finally remember, the holiday season only lasts a few weeks.

What you do during the rest of the year is far more important.

If you do put on some weight or eat way more than you planned to, don’t beat yourself up.

You’re always one meal away from being back on track.

Most importantly, enjoy the experience with your family and friends and create memories you won’t forget.

Thank you for reading.

I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!


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About Adrian McDonnell & McLifestyle Fitness:

IAdrian McDonnell is a highly specialised Personal Trainer & Online Fitness Coach from outside of Tuam, Co.Galway, Ireland.

Previously a primary school teacher for almost 5 years, Adrian followed his passion and pursued a career in fitness after seeing first hands the results he could achieve with himself.

Although Adrian is a Personal Trainer & now Full-Time Online Transformation Fitness Coach from outside of Tuam, Co.Galway – he not only coaches clients locally, but also nationally and internationally.

Adrian specialises in helping working professionals:


- Be confident in themselves·
- Feel more comfortable in their clothes·
- Look better in the mirror·
- Increase their energy and go for more promotions at work·
- Get fitter, leaner & stronger without following rigid meal plans·
- Go on more dates (this is a common one)·
- And feel proud of themselves for doing something they never thought was possible!

To date he has helped Transform over 500 Clients into fitter, more toned & confident individuals.

Transforming people’s lives through proper fitness, sustainable & enjoyable nutrition practices & mindset mentoring is something Adrian is truly passionate about and this is his mission in life.

Want to find out more? Contact me today & I’ll answer any questions you have.

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