How I lost weight, shrunk my waist , and gained strength during December, while still enjoying all the holiday parties.

Holiday season, oh the joy... and the stress! Family , Work, Friends parties, over eating and drinking. My challenge was to enjoy all the fun stuff and increase my health at the same time. Here is how I lost weight, shrunk my waist, increased my strength and did not miss a beat on all the festivities!

1. Know in advance when parties and dinners will be.

Before thanksgiving I mapped out more or less when all the dinners, company parties, and get togethers would be. So that I could map out my plan.

2. Track calories and Macros

I used MyFitnessPal to track my food and make adjustments accordingly.

3. Simplify workout to focus on building strength

I kept my workouts to focussing on 1 Compound lift exercise per day 5 sets 5 reps with 2 minute rests , 10 minutes of stretching, and 1 simple complimentary exercise for 4 sets of 8-10 reps with 50 second rests. For example, Bench Press and tricep Pull Downs.

4. Walk 10,000 steps a day

I found that if I could go for a 40 minute walk right after my workout I would get 5,000 steps before I had to get in the office.

5. Use Intermittent fasting days before and after Parties to compensate

On the days before and after, I fasted until 1 pm. This helped keep my calories lower leading upto and after the events where I was able to eat whatever I wanted.

6. The rest of the "normal" days follow the nutrition plan.

I made sure on the "non party" days to strictly follow my calorie and macro targets eating in a slight caloric deficit.

7. Weigh myself everyday taking weekly averages.

I weighed myself in the morning at the same time everyday and tracked a weekly average. It is amazing to see how things we consume like sodium affect a 1 day weight but not over the course of a week.