With the festive season rapidly approaching, all those parties and gatherings tend to come in abundance. Lots of eating, drinking and being merry, however, if you can’t fit into those fabulous outfits you want to wear, it won’t all be so merry. So why not prepare now to avoid all the stringent diet dilemmas, in fact, wouldn’t it be better to avoid diets altogether.
By getting active now, there is still time to get that metabolism working much faster, burning off energy more efficiently and building more muscle with it; it also allows you to eat much more, since muscle needs more food to maintain it. Sounds all so tedious but it really isn’t.
Working out using weights, or any other way you choose to get more muscle toned strength, will assist in maintaining your physique and body weight far more naturally and without the need of counting all those calories, so long as you are sensible with eating and not over indulging beyond your energy expenditure.
When I started training only twice a week with weights and just adding a little cardio a couple of times a week along with a cardio warm up, or just doing a little of what I enjoy a couple of times a week, be it kickboxing or dance, I noticed a massive difference in what I could eat. Although my body weight had increased, due to the muscle tone build, my body shape compacted – I could still fit into the exact same size clothing, yet the fit was better and all the clothing seemed to hang and fall better visually.
Although people tend to think all this requires a lot of hard training, endless times a week, it actually doesn’t, what it does require is the correct type of training according to the body shape, applied with intensity 2-3 times a week. It is actually the type of training technique, rather than the quantity of training, which is great if you don’t want to spend endless hours a week training.
People employ good personal trainers for a reason, they can push you beyond limits that you may think you are capable of, but also guide you with the right technique that will get you results and much faster than one can possibly imagine. So, choosing an experienced personal trainer is essential for maximum results. There really is time to get fit and fabulous by Christmas with some aspiration and action. I have trained people over many years and have seen amazing transformations within just 6-8 weeks on people with little dedication.
All the great training means great eating and it doesn’t mean boring, it means eating the right foods for energy. Foods that are full of sugar will give you an instant burst of energy and then hit you with a slump of energy soon after, whilst slow energy releasing foods include fruit, wholegrains, brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, barley, oatmeal, bulgur and buckwheat.
Any foods can be spiced up in some way, shape or form, without using all the bad fats and unnecessary sugars to cooking, and this is what I mean by sensible. You don’t have to avoid carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice etc, however trying to combine the wholesome variety as a replacement or including with the ordinary helps. Cakes and biscuits don’t have to be avoided, but it does mean you may have to bake more or find substitutes for sweet treats instead of buying ready-made sugar laden desserts. What’s so bad with making your own pancakes, waffles, churros, ice cream?! There are so many gadgets nowadays with technology that enables us to do all these things from home and without the necessity to deep fry and coat with ordinary sugar and a lot of syrup. With sugar free syrups on most supermarket shelves, an alternative can always be found, one won’t feel like they are missing out on anything and it will all be guilt free – how fabulous is that?!
Alcohol doesn’t have to be cut out entirely; if you enjoy a tipple, be it spirits or wine, just try and restrict it a little to when you really want or fancy a drink, rather than a daily habit and keep those spirits with sugar free mixers whenever possible.
Getting fit and fabulous doesn’t have to be a chore, find those activities you love, whether it is dancing, kickboxing, boxing, weight training, wrestling, swimming, soccer, rugby, tennis, badminton, skating, cycling, running, gymnastics or skiing. Doing what you enjoy is what counts, as then you are more likely to stick to it because you will look forward to doing it with some enthusiasm, especially when those dark cold winter nights are upon us.
Do what you love, look great and feel fabulous with a new you!

Love and Sparkles
Samara x

www.samsarabellydancer.co.uk
Facebook: Samara Kyriakou

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