Five Keys to Sustaining Fat Loss Through the Holidays: The Recoil Strategy
Five Keys to Sustaining Fat Loss Through the Holidays: The Recoil Strategy
In order to sustain fat loss during the holidays you need to focus on adopting a strategic nutritional approach, instead of the stressful tactic of restrictive dieting. The Recoil strategy bases meals on clean protein and managing food quality, timing, and proportion relative to your body composition (ratio of muscle compared to fat) goals. To maintain a fat burning state, we must prioritize whole, nutrient-dense foods (quality) and use precise macro calculations (proportion) to ensure the body favors burning stored fat over muscle tissue or readily available calories. Macro tracking can easily be done on any of the user-friendly apps available, such as MyFitnessPal, which have all of the necessary features on the free versions of their platform. See my previous blog post on macro nutrients and their roles https://www.recoiltrainingandfitness.com/blog-3-1/build-muscle-to-burn-fat-macronutrients-and-their-roles.
Key Elements for Maintaining a Fat-Loss State in High Calorie Settings
The holiday season necessitates a proactive strategy to maintain a caloric deficit without sacrificing the pleasure of those delicious treats. The key elements are centered on controlling appetite and minimizing large, unplanned caloric spikes.
· Start by implementing a protein pre-loading strategy. Protein is paramount because your body burns more calories digesting it than it does digesting fats or carbohydrates. Also, protein promotes satiety, which naturally curbs overeating, a major hurdle during celebratory meals. Consume a high-protein snack or meal before attending a holiday party.
· Second, focus on hydration and fiber. Drinking plenty of water and prioritizing fibrous fruits or vegetables at every meal helps fill your stomach, slows digestion, and mitigates the desire for sugary treats.
· Third, maintain your regular activity or routine. Do not abandon your training schedule, instead, utilize the extra calories from holiday meals to fuel slightly more intense strength training workouts. Strength training promotes the use of fat stores for energy and keeps your metabolism elevated for up to 48 hours post workout session. An elevated metabolism results in more efficient digestion, increased nutrient absorption, and decreased fat stores.
· Lastly, practice caloric banking by slightly reducing your calorie intake for the two preceding meals or skipping an earlier meal all together (intermittent fasting). This creates a buffer for the evening's indulgence without destroying your weekly deficit.
The Recoil Strategy is a simple starter formula that is easy to adjust over time and develop into a routine that delivers long term sustainable results that will improve brain energy, body composition, and overall wellbeing. Follow the five keys of The Recoil Strategy to ensure maintaining a fat burning state and achieving your body composition goals:
1. Protein as the base and consumed first to promote satiety
2. Consume nutrient dense organic foods
3. Timing carb intake to fuel strength training, feed muscle recovery, and reduce fat storage
4. Caloric banking with fasting or reducing portions
5. Strength training to increase metabolism and improve body composition
If you struggle to meet your desired nutritional goals consider supplementation as a good way to assist. Schedule a consultation with Recoil Training and Fitness if you would like to discuss how we can help engineer a health program that makes sense for you and your lifestyle.
