For many, Christmas is a time of year where we are tempted by lots of food that isn’t ordinarily on our nutrition plan. It’s hard to spend time around dinners, parties with co-workers and friends, and get-togethers without indulging in sweets and fattening foods. And that often results in weight gain. Here are some ideas that you can use to kickstart your get back in shape program right after Christmas.

1. Start Moving
Set aside at least 30 minutes a day for exercise to get your blood circulating. This can be in the form of a weight training workout at your local gym, or a session of your favorite cardio exercise. It can even be as simple as taking a walk, to get your heart pumping and your blood moving. Exercise helps to start reactivating your body’s biorhythms that as an athlete you are used to.

2. Become Consistent
Holiday schedules off and throw us out of whack, and it’s not unusual to miss work out. Once the season has settled down, pull out your calendar and jot down an exercise schedule that is sensible and that you can stick with. Sticking with it is the key here, as consistency with your workouts will yield results. If for some reason you get sidetracked and miss a workout, don’t get down on yourself. Just pick up the next day where you left off on the schedule.

3. Be Patient
If you’ve picked up 10 pounds over the last 30 days, you can count on it taking approximately the same time to get it off. Be sensible and realistic when you set your New Year’s goals and resolutions. The important thing is to focus on your progress. Too often we get stuck on the notion that we should be able to attain a perfect body within a certain amount of time. We often don’t give ourselves enough credit for the progress that we are making.

4. Make changes to your eating habits
This is the one that people often struggle with the most. But changing your eating habits doesn’t mean that you have to go hungry. It just means eating more nutritionally sound food that is lower in calories and more nutrient-dense. Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, just download the free  Lean Body Transformation guide. You find details at the end of this article.

5. Get Support from Your Peers
It helps if you have a training partner, friend or family member to exercise with you, and/or to provide encouragement. If you want even more motivation, you should consider signing up for the 2020 Lean body challenge. It’s free to enter, and you compete against yourself, to see how much physical improvement you can make in 12 weeks. Past Lean body challenge participants have claimed that it is life-changing. We provide the entire 12-week program, plus instructional videos, motivation, and access to a support group of your peers. We even have a Lean Body app coming soon to help you. Click here to sign up.