What damage have you really done in those few days of Christmas?
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Well that really depends on how healthy your body was before the festive season! If you have been partaking in a good healthy eating and fitness regime over the last 12 months, like our Famously Homme for example, then the Christmas binge probably hasn’t made too much difference to your weight or waistline, where as Famously Belle hasn’t been on her healthy regime long enough to strengthen her metabolism enough to be able to deal with the excess calories consumed so would likely gain a pound or so.

Metabolism Explained

In fitness and exercise, we talk about our metabolism and our basal metabolic rate as a key indicator of the “health” of the body. Basically, our metabolism represents all of the systems, organs and cells that use nutrient (energy) to do their job – so it is a measure of energy consumption. Our metabolism and basal metabolic rate are affected by two key things – the foods we eat and the exercise that we do.

Our bodies are much like motor cars really! If you have run your car at a consistent and moderate speed all year, without heavy acceleration or deceleration, using only high grade oil and fuel with the tanks topped up regularly, your car will be running well and there will have been very little wear and tear. Therefore, if you just go mad a few times at the end of the year, the car will be able to bear it because it is an efficient car. So imagine the reverse. You have driven your car recklessly all year, with fast acceleration and deceleration, running on low grade oil and fuel and letting your tanks run almost dry all of the time. Well, your engine is going to be pretty tired out. Then you go even crazier for a few days at the end of the year – it is likely that your engine will burn out.

It is a bit like comparing a Rolls Royce with an old Jalopy!

So, back to our bodies.

Well, if all year you have looked after your body, fed it the rights things and in the right way, and taken part in a variety of exercises including cardiovascular and weight training, you are likely to have a body that is running and functioning pretty well. Your metabolism and basal metabolic rate will be strong. You then have a bit of a blast at Christmas. Although you will have done temporary damage through spiking your blood sugars and eating too much of the wrong foods, your body will be quick to recover.

If all year you have not followed a healthy nutrition plan, have “yo-yo” dieted or constantly spiked your blood sugars, and have not been exercising regularly, your metabolism and basal metabolic rate will have suffered much more extensive and long term damage. You can repair things, but it will take much longer. With a car, we can whip out the damaged or worn parts and put in new ones. This is not so easy with the body – we need to give it time and support to gradually and slowly repair and heal itself and that will require a long term change your lifestyle.

So as you now hit the New Year and decide to lose weight or get fitter, take it easy. Set realistic goals. Whatever you do, don’t go on a starvation diet. There are so many weight loss programs that will help you get rid of excess weight quickly – much of it muscle rather than fat. Muscle weighs up to 3 times more than fat! This approach exacerbates the damage you have already done to your metabolism which will actually make it more difficult to achieve permanent weight loss.

Here is how you can start to repair your body

Consistency Rules! Do not yo-yo or skip meals! Maintain a consistent calorific intake every day. Of course you have to ensure that the calories are of the right type – rich in good carbohydrates, proteins, dietary fats, minerals and vitamins – to provide the top grade fuel that your body needs. Whilst we are all unique and different, a rule of thumb is approximately 1600 calories for a woman and 2200 for a man

All calories are not equal! You can eat an equal number of calories in either carbohydrates, or protein or fat but they have a different effect on the body. Fat does not require much energy to convert, whereas protein does. This is called the thermic effect. So chose foods that require more energy to consume, break down, digest and use. Fibrous fruit, vegetables and legumes, lean proteins like chicken, turkey, egg whites and fish.

A Little and Often! Divide your calories into 5-6 smaller meals or snacks every day. If you are maximizing the thermic effect, and do it 5-6 times every day, you will be burning a lot of energy and in doing so boosting your metabolism.

The Upside Down Pyramid. Eat the way you want to look! We all want bodies where our shoulders are wider than our waists. Eat in that way – have a substantial breakfast, a moderate lunch and a small supper! And don’t forget your metabolic window. Eat a moderate balanced meal post workout to provide for proper repair and recovery!

The Thumping Heart. Walking and low intensity cardio is better than nothing, but you need to push up the intensity of your training if you want to really boost your metabolism. Your heart is a muscle and as it gets stronger it pushes blood and oxygen around the body more efficiently also increasing your metabolism. It is like adding more oxygen to a fire. Woosh - off it goes!

The Mighty Muscle Many people make the mistake that losing weight is all about cardiovascular training. Of course it helps – whilst you are running or doing your aerobic class you will be using energy. When you stop, so does the extra calorie burn! If you regularly work your muscles you will increase the amount of muscle fibre that is active all of the time. Increased muscle mass leads to increased lean body mass, which leads to a higher basal metabolic rate, which leads to a stronger metabolism. That means you are burning more calories 24 hours every day!

Include exercises that work all of the largest muscle groups in the body and ideally several groups at one time – for example squats, lunges, dead lifts, overhead presses, press ups, and almost all core exercises.