Indulged Over The Holidays?
Tis the season to indulged over the holidays with stuffing, turkey, buttery rolls, and pie, pie, and more pie. With all the office parties, cookie swaps, and holiday potlucks this time of year, it’s especially hard to avoid overeating. Hey, it happens to the best of us. But the real problem is usually what happens after—in our body and our mind.
Are you filled with regret, dejectedly pondering starting a juice cleanse? Do you wallow in the damage for hours or even days?
Don’t fret. Sometimes reframing the situation and having an action plan is all you need to rebound ASAP.
Don’t Panic
The guilt and anxiety that sets in following a food binge can be more damaging than the actual overeating session itself. Realistically, even if you gobbled down an entire pint of rocky road the night before, you’re not going to pack on a whole whack of weight from a single night of overindulgence. Look at a single binge as a temporary setback, but not like it’s the end of the world. The best food binge comeback is simply resuming your balanced, healthy diet and moving forward to avoid regular food binging.
Rehydrate the Body
After a night of salty-deep fried indulgence, water is key so drink up! We all know that when the body is thirsty we often feel hungry. However, following a night of consuming sodium and Trans fat-rich foods you will even feel more dehydrated. So be sure to drink a few large glasses of water first thing in the morning and keep a large water bottle nearby to sip throughout the day to flush out all the salt in your system.
Ignore the Scale
The scale is not your ally the day following a food binge. So ignore the scale, particularly if your night of binging featured a lot of foods that were high in sodium. The excess sodium consumed will increase your normal weight by a couple of pounds of water weight, and only deter your motivation for resuming healthy eating. Instead, drink water and resume to eat a healthy, balanced diet for at least 72 hours. This will ensure the sodium is flushed out of your body.
Don’t Starve Yourself
It’s tough to wake up after a night of binging without guilt. However, if you starve yourself as a form of punishment you’re only triggering another inevitable—yet another binge. Instead, realize that you are only human and concentrate your energy on resuming a healthy, balanced diet and exercise routine.
The Takeaway
Admit that to indulged over the holidays on food is the human condition. We all have our moments. As a popular inspirational quote says, “You are not defined by your mistakes, but your reaction.”
About the author
Dwayne Wimmer founded Vertex Fitness Personal Training Studio in 2001, excited to bring a new concept about personal training to the people of Philadelphia’s Main Line in Pennsylvania. Driven by knowledge and results both, while a strength coach at Villanova University, he worked closely with world class athletes such as Brian Westbrook, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles, on strength training and conditioning for optimal performance. Dwayne’s client base extends much further than world class athletes. Along with athletes, he works with adolescents to seniors, and he’s a highly acclaimed and sought out personal trainer who has received numerous awards, such as Best of the Main Line Personal Training Studio and Best Main Line Personal Trainer.
Through efforts and a driving passion to bring the “professional” to the fitness industry, Dwayne co-founded the Fitness Leaders Alliance in 2013, which is an organization dedicated to the training of more highly qualified personal trainers. Its focus is on ethical business practices, scientifically proven methods, and the realization that continuous learning is important in the fitness industry.
A graduate of Missouri Western State University, Dwayne has a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education, with an emphasis in Coaching. Aside from personal training, he’s spent time as a physical education teacher, strength and conditioning coach, and a football coach, but has found his passion and home in the fitness industry, inspiring and reaching out to others. As a strong believer in continuing to learn, Dwayne has also taken classes at East Stroudsburg University toward a Masters Degree in Sports Management.
Since June of 2013, Dwayne has co-hosted the podcast, “The Fitness Professional Show.” This provides a wonderful platform to help with his goals of creating a more professional fitness industry. And now, he can add author to his list of accomplishments, having created a chapter in the upcoming book The Soul of Success with Jack Canfield, renowned for the Chicken Soup series.
To get to the point where he is now, Dwayne has always been thankful for the support of his father, a man who always believed in his mission and saw the need for what it was that Dwayne envisioned. During his free time, Dwayne is an avid motorcyclist who enjoys viewing the amazing landscapes and finding good restaurants to enjoy that are off the beaten path. He also takes advantage of opportunities to travel and experience many other cities while attending fitness seminars and giving presentations about the industry he is so passionate about. As a way to give back to the community that has been a part of his entire life, Dwayne has created Vertex Fitness PUMPED (People United Making Progress through Education and Donations), which provides support to area non-profits through a community-wide outreach effort. At this time, they help three non-profits per year in the Philadelphia area.
For more information from Dwayne, you may contact him at (610) 525-6604, dwayne@vertexfit.com, or visit www.FitnessLeadersAlliance.com.