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In todays Wednesday Weigh-in show I’d like to know: Are you subscribing to… The BEAT Body or BEST Body mindset this holiday season?

In the world of beat body a focus on restriction and enduring dominates.  The classic (and boring) “I just need to survive other 2 weeks”

Mr or Ms beat body is tired – always tired – muscling through ‘until‘ …forcing their body to get by on not enough sleep and way too many unplanned and UN-ideal meals out.

You’ve probably met a few beat body representatives right? Not so fun to be or to be around… so here’s your alternative;

Let’s meet Ms or Mr best body. Best body may not necessarily saunter through the holiday season with their ultimate best body – its more that they treat their body like a best friend they appreciate and respect.

Let’s check out the Beat and Best approach over 3 common holiday season situations.

One: At a Christmas PARTY:

Ms beat arrives staaaarrving. She’s been racing round all day – barely eaten – and ready to DEMOLISH those tasty little canapés that are in quick supple. Wash a handful of scrumbo yet super high caloric density canapés down with a few glasses of bubbles and she’s in good form.

Now I’m a fan of enjoying a drink or many however if you want to be rockin your new years eve out-fit or comfortable in your fav pair of jeans then I have one major guideline for you:

=> You can enjoy alcoholic beverages as long you do not lose all your inhibitions so far as best food choices.

Food in combination with those drinkies is where the damage is done. It’s the mindless picking at the lollie table when those canapés have finished… the pizza or kebab ordered on the way home… and the carb+fat burger and chips fest for lunch the next day ‘to recover’.

The best approach is not hard, it just requires a tad of planning.

Ms best has eaten as normal today – yes she was busy too – however she knows a couple of quick yet nutritious options to grab on the go or prepare in advance. She’s able to politely decline the canapés that she knows her body doesn’t need and enjoy the couple that fit in with her normal eating habits. She wash’s them down with Vodka soda or red wine and steers clear of sugary mixers and beer.

But beer is Free at this party and you have to buy your vodkas?

=> Free for your wallet is often not free for you body. How much time and energy are you going to spend trying to work off the kilos that free food and alcohol have landed?

After a fun evening Ms best cruises home to the meal she planned in advance… even if ‘the plan’ only extended to the best take-away option to buy on the way home (for me this is grilled fish and salad).  She recognises she’s flooded her body with more alcohol than is ideal and it deserves a heap of water, some great fuel and a decent nights sleep.

Two: When SLEEP Is Lacking:

Ms beat almost holds her lack of sleep and crazy social schedule as a badge of honour. The holiday season is for partying right?  Play hard : work hard and her body can ‘catch up’ in January. As long as she’s got ready access to a few large coffee’s and some quick-fix energy drinks and sugar-hits then she’s good to go.

=> A lack of sleep seriously diminishes your ability to make the best food choices. It’s a massive will power sap.

Your tired body seems to scream at you for energy – in the form of easily digested processed crap-o-la – however, all it really needs is a solid 8 hours sleep and a micro-nutrient rich meal.

The best approach starts at saying No occasionally so you can say Yes to a tad of sleep catch-up.

Ms best could absolutely be out every night and dragging her tired body through every day. However, she has done that in previous years and learnt from the disappointing results. She’ll still push the limits though she follows one major guideline:

=> A commitment to a few health non-negotiables in her week – Exercise, Meal Planning, Food Shopping – if she’s “just too tired” and wavering on any of them then she knows its time to insert extra sleep here!

Apart from keeping to her regular eating and exercising routine, having the discipline to say No when Ms best’s body needs a night in means she gets to be more efficient and effective at work AND less likely to collapse in a heap the second she arrives at holiday time.

Three: When deciding NOW or later:

Ms beat is holding tight to the New Year excuse.  Anything that requires a little discomfort can wait till Jan… because that’s when she will be endowed with a whole heap of focus and discipline and motivation.

That’s when it’ll be a better time… the right time… she’ll have more time… enough time…

=> Ms beat – like all of us – will NEVER have enough time. It will always be a matter of choosing priorities and managing herself to stick to them rather than managing time.

The best approach is incredibly freeing, it helps relieve the overwhelm of everything that needs to get done.

Ms best does what she can now. She has 3 quick questions to qualify what deserves the NOW treatment:

1) Is there Value in doing it?

2) Will delaying make it any easier to do?

3) Do I need help to get started?

=> From here she decides on the best one next step – and takes it. As long as Ms best is clear on what is most important to get done and prioritises these tasks then the unimportant yet fun and easy will not get the opportunity to muscle out the important and long term life enhancing.

To get actionable today I’d love you to apply those 3 quick questions when next deciding what deserves the NOW treatment… to recap that’s:

1) Is there Value in doing it?

2) Will delaying make it any easier to do?

3) Do I need help to get started?

That’s it for today… in tomorrows Thursday Training show I cover: Respect The Momentum.

If you liked this you’ll also like: What to eat when out and about.

If you’re yet to share the Healthification love – just click here to zip over to iTunes and leave an honest rating and review. It’d help me out big time. With gratitude, Kate.