6 effective ways to manage Christmas stress and enjoy the holidays to the fullest!

Christmas is inexorably approaching and with it tons of fantastic food and, for many, some well-deserved time off to enjoy after a very long time. Admit it, who can't wait for a moment of rest from the everyday worries that sometimes keep us up during the year?

Few people want to stress themselves out over the holidays with food and exercise, because there was a lot going on for all of us over the year. That's not a bad thing at all, on the contrary, the body and mind just need a proper reboot sometimes and Christmas is the perfect holiday for a quality and undisturbed rest.

The holidays for one can mean a few days of endless gluttony during which the only faster activities are running to the toilet and to thefridge for the next meal, and after which even normal everyday activities become difficult to say the least - we are talking here, for example, about walking, or even a more moderate trot, during which "worm pissing" (= the return of undigested food from the stomach back into the mouth, but the subsequent swallowing returns everything back to the stomach) often occurs!Who does not know this, does not know how to enjoy the holidays! This is a bit of an exaggerated scenario, but in my experience it is not so unrealistic, I experience it myself every year.

If you've dutifully followed a regimen for the rest of the year, ate clean at least most of the time, and trained hard, then Christmas is the time when you can really indulge in all the things you've often denied yourself during the rest of the year. How many of those few "unhealthy" (but incredibly delicious) meals are there, compared to the approximately 1,700 meals you eat the rest of the year? A pretty insignificant number, which is why I loudly recommend that you don't overindulge in what you eat and drink from December 24 until the 1st of the new year! Regrets are definitely not on the agenda, time to take stock later, so give yourself a mental break from all the negative things you eat and drink and let your appetites run wild, there are no limits to your imagination.

The exceptions are those people who quickly develop a psychological addiction to food and unbridled cravings would carry over into the post-holiday regime, which is the last thing we want. So if you are one of those people who, if they let up a little, will be untamable for the next few weeks, choose your meals and food combinations carefully! It all depends on our personality type. You know yourself best, and so you have to decide whether you can control your cravings afterwards, or whether that would stop your progress by carrying bad habits into the next year.

The other exception is people who suffer from a medical condition that can be adversely affected by several days of food and alcohol consumption.

However, for most people the following applies:

"Eating doesn't end with being full. Food only ends when I start to hate myself or can't move!"

So a few simple tips for the holidays are:

1) Enjoy it! And do it the f*ck up!

Feasting in the company of family and close friends will have a positive, or in some cases even beneficial, effect on the production of certain happiness neurotransmitters, and that's exactly what most of us need as we are under constant stress the rest of the year due to work, health, personal and financial issues, as well as hard workouts.

Again, some individuals will benefit from increasing their intake of carbohydrates, which have been too low during the year. This will restart the production of hormones that can even lead to fat burning! For example, if someone has denied themselves carbohydrates for too long and has been in a calorie deficit without taking advantage of "refeed days", this may have slowed down the thyroid gland, which can be kick-started again by increased carbohydrate intake. So, paradoxically, someone will benefit from increased calorie and carbohydrate intake.

2) Start the day with a glass of filtered water with lime and Himalayan salt.

It's a classic that clients have known for a long time, and most have become so accustomed to it that they can't even imagine getting up in the morning without it. This combination will make it easier for your digestive tract to cope with the huge load of food that awaits it during the day. You'll also create a more alkaline environment in your body, which is quite appropriate due to your sugar intake.

When there is more time to prepare and you are stress-free, this is a good time to rotate the ingredients you use. For example, replace the Himalayan salt, which you are certainly used to, with its black variant or "Celtic" sea salt and use grapefruit instead of lemon or lime. On the other hand, if you don't want to worry about it, good old lemon and table salt (because of the sodium content) will also do.

3) Don't feel guilty!

As I mentioned above, your form won't really deteriorate significantly during those few days and you won't lose everything you've worked for so far!! And if you do gain some fat, don't worry about it, you will lose it all again in the next few days in your usual regime. There is simply no room for regrets over the holidays!

4) Socialise!

Hang out with people, invite those you really care about over for food and drinks. Be that as it may, we all deal with hundreds of things during the year, which is why Christmas is once again the best possible time to get together for a coffee or a drink with those you haven't had much time for during the year. Now is the perfect time to make things right.

5) If you get sick, mood swings, headaches and loss of energy come, remember it well!

This is exactly how the majority of the population feels throughout the year :))

Getting up in the morning with no energy and an irresistible craving for a morning carb load, followed by mood swings, energy and more sugar cravings, fatigue, inability to concentrate, loss of libido, needing to use energy drinks and hectolitres of coffee... Just a short list of the problems of the average person. Sometimes it's good to get back into that role for a while, why?

Because at least you will know that you really don't want to live like this!!

6) Instead of strength sets, focus more on "bodybuilding" and "pumping" training!

A workout consisting of more reps will make more room for glucose, which is again beneficial with increased sugar intake! If we choose lighter workouts in terms of intensity (weight used), we also give the CNS (central nervous system), joints, tendons and ligaments a rest. So don't be surprised if the workout is a bit lighter than what you are normally used to.

Example of workout I - Full Body I - for beginners:

Exercise designation, exercise name, sets x reps, repetition rate, pause

• A1 DB Squat, heels elevated 4x12-15 2010 10s
• A2 Walking Lunges 4x12 on each leg 2010 10s
• A3 Leg Curls, feet neutral 4x12 2010 10s
• A4 Leg Press, medium stance 4x15-20 2010 90s

• B1 DB Bench Press 4x12-15 2010 10s
• B2 DB Bent Over Rows 4x12-15 2010 10s
• B3 DB Shoulder Press 4x12-15 2010 10s
• B4 BW Dips (Barbell push-ups with own weight) 4xmax 2010 90s

Example workout II - Full Body II - Advanced:

• A1 BB Back Squat 4x10-12 3010 10s
• A2 Arnold Press 4x10-12 3010 60s
• A3 BB Romanian Deadlift 4x10-12 3010 10s
• A4 DB Lateral Raises 4x10-12 3010 60s

• B1 Hacken Machine Squat 3x12-15 2010 10s
• B2 Lat Pulldowns, wide grip, pronated 3x12-15 2010 10s
• B3 DB Lateral Step-Ups (side lunges, single leg) 3x10 on each leg 1010 10s
• B4 Peck Deck 3x12-15 2010 60s

Example Workout III - Full Body III - Level Beast:

The workout is done in intervals, you spend 30-40 seconds on each station and have 20 seconds to move on to the next exercise. After completing all six exercises there is a 180 second break, the goal is to do 4-6 rounds.

1. Trap Bar Deadlift with 75% 1RM (75% of max for 1 rep)
2. Log Lift or Push Press with Axle
3. Heavy Prowler Push (pushing heavy sled = 150kg or more)
4. Sledge Hammer (hammer blows to the tire)
5. Sandbag Over Shoulder (throwing heavy medicine ball over shoulder)
6. Glute Ham Raises

7) Support your body with supplementation!

During the holidays we pump a lot of sugar and a lot of food into our bodies, thus we also undermine our immunity and put more pressure than usual on our detoxification and digestive systems, so the number 1 supplement is a QUALITY MULTIVITAMIN.

• Dosage: 3 times a day 1-2 capsules with meals.

The second important supplement will bedigestive enzymes, which will be damn needed.

• Dosage: 3 times a day 1-2 capsules with food.

Inflammation will also gradually start to form in our body and that is the last thing we want, henceOMEGA-3 fatty acids will help in this case.

• Dosage: 3 times a day dose of 5g.

8) When drinking alcohol, limit yourself to wine, sparkling wine or vodka.

As absurd as it may sound, there are "better and worse" options when it comes to alcohol too. The worst thing you can do for yourself is drink hectolitres of beer and sugary concoctions! So beer and slushies are really only rare...

Note: I don't recommend drinking alcohol! This is only a recommendation for the holidays when it is hard to avoid! There, I'm out of the loop... :)

If you're going to have a proper reboot over the holidays and you're going to be embarrassed at times, SHARE!!!

Tip for the end: take a homemade Christmas cookie, preferably from your grandma, and cut off the biggest piece you can. Spread it with butter and a good layer of Nutella! Wash it down with warm cocoa (Granko works very well here) while watching Czech fairy tales. What's more???

Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year, Dominik Kodras