It’s finally time for a break from our tedious schedules. We all work so hard to improve ourselves in so many ways, and we all deserve a little time off to celebrate ourselves. This festive season, let’s savor our favorite foods, dance with our favorite people, and do all our favorite things, without any guilt or hesitation. As a human being, you spend approximately a third of your life sleeping, so respect the laws of nature! Instead of falling into a deep sleep (which we’ll start helping you do pretty soon), fall into the festive mood and let the festivities help you rest and recoup!
What does giving myself a break mean for my progress?
The myth that going on a vacation or taking a break from your regular fitness routine cancels out all your progress needs to be busted. Your fitness journey is not a linear path that ends somewhere, it’s about you changing your habits. These changing habits don’t just mean trading in your chocolate syrup for whey protein powder. Your changing habits represent your understanding of the importance of diet and exercise. When you exercise, not only do you trigger a physical change, but also a psychological one, resulting in a holistic benefit for you. Your diet dictates how you nourish your body, so absorbing the right nutrients is absolutely essential.
There’s no question about the fact that it’s a bigger challenge to stick to your regular lifestyle when you have more downtime and more boxes of sweets being gifted to you, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a bad thing. Maybe your gym is on the way home from the office, maybe you keep your pre workout supplements on your desk at work, maybe one of your colleagues is your gym buddy. The reasons your workout regime changes could be endless, but you need to remember that you don’t always have to go in for a full on sweat session. Granted, the higher intensity your exercise is the greater impact on your health, but keeping the habit is something you should focus on.
What if I’m away from my usual form of exercise?
You could be on vacation or just wanting a change, and that’s perfectly fine! If you’ve planned to not go anywhere and just rest it out, or you’re on vacation, or your whey protein is over, the reasons you can’t attend your usual physical activity are endless. You could also just be bored or wanting to try something new, all of this is completely normal. You are somebody who appreciates physical exercise, and you should be thankful to yourself that you exercise regularly even if you’re not for a while. However, don’t use it as an excuse to become completely sedentary, you can be active even without blocking out a part of your day just to get your sweat on!
Like we discussed, keeping the habit is an important part of your fitness routine. Maybe you’ve blocked out a time every single day or decided on a schedule for the week, and now you don’t want to go full throttle. There are many ways for you to make your everyday life a little more active! Maybe at your exercise time you can go out and run errands, but make sure you’re walking or cycling so in the process of doing a task you also burn some calories. You can also just take the stairs or even only go for a walk, the choice is yours. Getting your body moving is the most important part, even if you’re not exerting yourself. And don’t forget to energize, especially with protein supplements!
You can also use this time to change your workout routine! With more time at the gym, you can take it slower, maybe understand some of your normal exercises better, or even try completely new workouts. If you’ve been feeling like your workouts are getting a bit monotonous, experimenting like this can definitely give you a big boost. We bet one of the questions in your mind is how many walks it’s going to take you to burn off your mom’s favorite homemade dish. All our mothers are going to nudge us to take a second helping, and then a third, but maybe your stomach knows better for this one…
Make sure you’re listening to your ‘gut feelings’
There’s absolutely no way we can say no to every treat presented to us, we are only human after all! It doesn’t matter how tasty the best protein powder is, our true sweet cravings lie in the dishes we’ve been drooling over since we were children. It’s very important to let your inner child free sometimes and just enjoy, especially because your inner child didn’t understand what calories are and how bad some foods can truly be for us. While you can’t change how many calories are in your most desired dishes, you can control your portions. Make sure your gut is healthy and able to process whatever you throw at it! A probiotic blend like Terra Origin Greens Superfoods aids your microbiome and gives you a vast array of micronutrients.
Self-discipline is synonymous with good health, so keep yourself in check like you always do. Control your portions, try to choose healthier alternatives, watch your macros and micros, and you can enjoy eating whatever you like. Also pay attention to when you are eating! Your body needs time to absorb nutrients efficiently, even if you’re having the most bioavailable form of protein, grass fed whey. Make sure you finish eating long before you sleep, and try to eat not too long after waking up. Terra Origin 100% Grass fed Whey is a great choice to start your day, easy to absorb protein will definitely kickstart you!
When it comes to healthier alternatives, have you thought about the fact that energy balls and ladoos are the same concept, just different execution? Try out this 3-ingredient peanut ladoo recipe which has ingredients that are good for you!
- Roast peanuts in a pan and let it cool. Remove the skin by rubbing it between your palms.
- Grind the peanuts into a powder.
- Add ghee and jaggery, and grind again.
- Make ladoos from the mixture and let it rest before serving.
Ghee is a good source of vitamins, oxidants, and healthy fats, jaggery contains more nutrients and is a natural sweetener, and peanuts are rich in protein, fat, and fiber. These ladoos are a guilt-free treat that you can enjoy any time and are definitely a conversation starter! In fact, you could even add some vegan protein powder, like Terra Origin Organic Plant Protein to make it a treat for anyone and everyone, for their taste buds and their muscles!
Don’t forget to phase back into it:
When the festive period starts to close and the dread of return to our normal lives sets in, it’s important for us to not put pressure on ourselves to get back to exactly how we were before the celebrations. If you were doing 60-minute workouts before you took a vacation, try starting back up with 30-minute workouts. Give yourself time to re-adjust and get back into your flow, and you’ll see the value of rest when you start killing it again. Appreciate the beauty of festivals and take it in your stride on your fitness journey! Make sure you’re celebrating with Terra Origin to make sure you can #RiseToTheOccasion.