As we welcome November, we also mark the start of the holiday season, but the holidays are just that, holi-DAYS (not holi-WEEKS)
 
Statistics show that the number one reason for weight gain over the course of the year is holiday and vacation eating.
 
What may happen is that some people could gain about 3lbs around Halloween time, then Thanksgiving rolls around and another 3 - 5lb gain. Before we know it, it's Christmas and well, there's another 3 - 5lbs and let's not forget about New Year's Eve AND Day and 'suddenly' we're seeing the scale top out at about 15lbs heavier than when we entered the holiday season.  Some of us are left scratching our heads thinking "I'm not sure what happened, I didn’t change how I eat!"
 
In many ways that’s true, you don’t have to change the way you eat, you just have to enjoy a few occasions and not manage the weight gain.
 
If you're working with a PLT Nutrition Coach, or if you are someone that manages their weight pretty well, you will have seen how your weight can easily spike from an event…only to quickly come back down when you actively work it lower - this is the key
 
 If you feel you have experienced this in the past, why not make this the year you change?!
 
The PLT ABC’s are the building blocks of our nutrition plan and can be applied to specific situations giving you a guideline to help you stay focused and working hard despite special occasions like holidays!
 
ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Have a plan in place before the holiday season begins
• If you're working with a PLT coach, talk to them about any specific concerns you might have
• Ensure you have your regular foods prepped and ready in addition to the ‘holiday’ foods so that your eating remains on track 
• Prepare a menu that includes foods that you enjoy and you might want to indulge in moderately
• Decide what you will track and what you won’t (no need to track Thanksgiving dinner, but the eating that follows, including leftovers should be tracked) 

 
BALANCE:

• Look at the holiday week and decide how you will balance your days; you may have 4 parties & 2 big family meals that you will need to plan your day to ensure that you remain on track
• Ensure you're getting your regular exercise in and remaining active
• Be present within yourself each day and be mindful of your intentions and your goals
• Plan to eat a high protein, low fat & carb breakfast, possibly delaying breakfast, on party days. Before heading out, eat a little something, maybe a salad with a little protein so that you are not showing up hungry!
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
• Limit alcohol to 1-2 drinks if at all; sparkling water w/lime is your friend
• Pie & whipped cream OR dinner rolls & butter; plan to choose wisely so you feel satisfied and happy

 
 CONSISTENCY:

• Your plan doesn’t end on Thanksgiving eve and restart on New Year’s Day; stay focused throughout the season 
• Stick to your normal routine except when your routine changes
• A holiday event on Friday evening does not mean the entire week is a blowout
• Exercise daily; NEAT is your best friend!
• Communicate with your coach, a friend, a family member when feeling stressed
• Track as usual, except special holiday meals
• Check in with your coach as scheduled.

  
The 3 basic approaches to holiday eating:

• Eat the entire table and drink all the alcohol! Start early, like Thanksgiving Eve (if you didn’t start on Halloween) and go through New Year’s Day! Eat with wild abandon, you’ll start that diet soon and be fine (Let's NOT do this!)
• Choose one day out of the week like Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day or Eve to allow yourself the freedom to eat at will. BUT being mindful that you’d rather not wake up feeling terrible the next day maybe limit alcohol to 1-3 drinks that don’t have 300cal each. Eat less stuffing if you know you want pie; eat raw veggies rather than all the deliciousness on the charcuterie board. Relax, be conversational, enjoy a lovely meal with family and friends knowing that the next day you will get right back on track (Let's DO this!)
• Track your holiday meal as you would any other meal. This is not strongly suggested as it’s not necessary but if you are more comfortable doing so then you absolutely should. In some cases we are attending a holiday event that doesn’t really mean much to us but it’s a commitment we have and we’d just as soon consider it like any other day. Do what works best for you.

 
 Tips & Tricks:

• If you are hosting you are golden! Make everyone’s favorite foods including the things you love that will ensure you don't completely over indulge (veggie platter, fresh fruit to snack on instead of charcuterie yummies)
• Make those same things to take with you if you are invited to someone’s home
• Eat a light but protein focused breakfast
• Hydrate well all day
• Mingle with a water or seltzer in your hand and when you look at the appetizers navigate towards raw veggies and stay away from the cheese etc.
• Talk! A lot! It keeps your mouth busy!
• ‘No thank you’ is all you need to say when Uncle Jim wants to pour you another mug of spiced cider
• Fill your dinner plate with veggies first, then load up on protein and take small servings of starchy carbs
• Eat slowly and relax and enjoy the moment
• Washing dishes is NEAT! (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis) Pitch in and increase your movement after eating instead of hitting the couch!

  
Weight spikes will happen, embrace them as it means you’re enjoying life, but know that you MUST manage your weight back down by tightening up your nutrition for 2,4,8,10 days afterwards - basically however long it takes until the gain has gone!
 
Whether you have a PLT Coach or not, maybe weighing the same on Jan 2nd as you do today IS progress! You avoided the typical 15lb gain!
 
This period isn’t always about losing weight as progress, it can 100% be about maintaining your weight.
 
Don’t put off starting your journey just because of this challenging period. There’s EVERY value starting today, tomorrow - soon - the sooner the better. There is NO reason to put it off.
 
Above all else, smile, have fun, love your family, cherish your friends but remember your goals. We wish you a healthy and happy holiday season and we wish you an epic scale reading on 1/1/223!​

Well, it’s about that time again… Football season is upon us!

Whether you’re a football fan or not, you likely have friends or family who love football. That means you’ve likely spent a Sunday or two (and the occasional Monday night) hanging around certain “football foods” like pizza, wings, and all sorts of yummy, not so calorie-friendly foods.

As we know we definitely do not have to avoid these foods all together. Sometimes you can (and should) eat the pizza! However, if this is becoming every Sunday thing you may find it difficult to hit your goals and stay on plan.
​
Perhaps you can try doing football season a little differently this year.

Here are some healthy swaps that may help you stay on plan:

• Swap pizza for homemade pizza or pizza bites (using lavash bread, pita bread, high-fiber English muffins, low-fat cheeses, a mixture of different lean proteins like chicken or chicken sausage, all the veggies).
• Swap fried chicken wings for baked wings (toss with sauces like G-Hughes sugar-free BBQ sauce, honey mustard, or hot sauce. Dip with low-fat ranch dressing, plain Greek yogurt mixed with ranch seasoning, low-fat blue cheese dressing, cottage cheese).
• Swap chips and dip with veggies and dip (celery, colored peppers, carrots, cucumber, zucchini, broccoli, sugar-snap peas. Dip with plain Greek yogurt, low-fat ranch or seasoned ranch mixed with Greek yogurt).
• Prepare buffalo chicken dip with low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt and cottage cheese instead of the typical full fat cheese, ranch, blue cheese dressing, and cream cheese. Serve with multi-grain crackers or veggies.
• Prepare spinach and artichoke dip with low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt instead of mayo & serve with multi-grain crackers or veggies.

​Here are a few more fun and healthy ideas to try:

• Taco station with proteins like lean ground turkey or lean ground beef and tons of different veggie options
• Mini chicken burgers
• Chicken skewers with peppers, onions, zucchini
• Turkey meatballs
• Cowboy caviar
• Homemade guacamole
  
  

As always, having a plan heading into game day will always work out in your favor. Choosing a healthy alternative to help you stay on plan will have you waking up Monday morning feeling fantastic!

Happy football season and may the odds forever be in your team's favor! 

𝗜𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?
Well, this gets pretty science-y but let's break it down so we can better understand the effects stress may be having on achieving fat loss goals.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone that works in the body as a stress response and is often measured in research as an indicator of stress. It is produced from cholesterol in the two adrenal glands.

Cortisol plays a large role in nutrition science by regulating energy, and when chronically elevated, cortisol can have harmful effects on weight, the immune system, the gastrointestinal track, and chronic disease risk.

When we experience stress in our lives our bodies go through what is often called the “fight-or flight” response & has a temporary increase in energy production. In short, in the event an individual faces stress, our bodies release cortisol from the adrenal glands. This process produces 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗲 as an immediate energy source to our large muscles which then 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in an attempt to prevent glucose from being stored.

Epinephrine (aka adrenaline hormone) increases the heart rate which then results in the hormone levels returning to normal after the individual resolves the problem.

So, can chronic elevation of cortisol from stress have a negative impact on weight gain and fat loss? The answer is YES!

Chronically elevated cortisol can gather triglycerides from storage and relocate them to visceral fat cells (abdominal fat that surrounds the internal organs). In layman terms, cortisol can quite literally create fat storage around your belly.

Increased cortisol levels effect cravings for high-calorie foods & increased appetite. Multiple different studies have shown a direct association between increased cortisol levels and calorie intake in populations of women.

Seeing how cortisol increases the production of glucose, frequent high blood glucose levels along with insulin suppression sends hunger signals to the brain, which can result in overeating.

So, what can we do? 

Well, for starters, we can improve stress management and optimize our diet and lifestyle.

Some strategies for stress management may include:

• Prioritize quality sleep
• Add in cardio/resistance training
• Practice breath work/meditation/yoga/prayer
• Learn better time management
• Improve personal relationships

Optimize diet by increasing anti-inflammatory foods such as whole foods, fruits and veggies & limiting pro-inflammatory foods & lifestyle factors such as:

• Low fiber diet
• Excess alcohol
• Excess caffeine
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Saturated & trans fatty foods
• Processed foods

In summary, stress can cause difficulties when it comes to reaching our weight loss goals, but luckily, there are many things you can control & improve from a nutrition standpoint.