How to Bounce Back After Thanksgiving Meal

Leggings // Nikes // Tank // Sports Bra // Swell Bottle

Hey Y’all and happy Sunday!! Can you believe this holiday weekend is almost over?! It went by way too fast for me. I’ve probably had 10 Thanksgiving meals in leftovers so far – NO GUILT!! Thank you guys SO much for sending me your recipes. I now have my first Thanksgiving as a chef in the books!

Now that Thanksgiving festivities are over, I’m ready to focus and get my mind and body back on track. Who’s with me?! If you’d like to join me this week, here are my top 3 tips on how to kickstart your healthy routine:

1. Move On!

This one may seem obvious, but the first step to getting back on track after a big feast is to LET IT GO! (cue the Frozen soundtrack haha). But, seriously – this used to be the most difficult step for me! After eating unhealthy, I’d feel this overwhelming sense of guilt for indulging. It felt like I let myself down or I’d failed at trying a healthy lifestyle. Guys – it took me SO long to understand that this was a terrible, terrible mindset.

It is absolutely okay to indulge! Life is all about balance. I can’t speak for everyone, but I truly believe that (almost) anything in moderation is best for my mental and physical health.

So, here’s my motto: eat clean, stay fit, and have a burger to stay sane (thanks, Gigi Hadid)!

2. Plan Your Next Workout… And Follow Through

I don’t know about y’all, but I feel so much more motivated when I have a plan. At the beginning of the week, I like to set measurable goals for myself and then write down a plan of action to accomplish them. Whether it’s one workout or five workouts this week, it’s important to set your expectations, set aside time to meet those expectations, and ultimately follow through!

The most important thing when deciding your workout plan for the week is to make it doable. It’s easy to plan a super intense workout every single day to make up for the extra turkey and pumpkin pie you ate, but when it’s actually time to work out, you may discover it’s not as easy to do and more importantly, it’s not as easy to sustain. I prioritize consistency over intensity. I’d rather have a consistent schedule of reasonable workouts as opposed to one really intense workout.

Here are my 3 favorite ways to train to help me get back on track:

High-Intensity Interval Training 

Okay, I know I just said to prioritize consistency over intensity, BUT interval training doesn’t have to be your max effort. The basic idea of interval training is to alternate periods of work with periods of rest (I usually do 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off). And as you get stronger, you can easily adjust the ratio.

I personally love interval training because it’s challenging and efficient. If you’re pressed for time, you can get a great workout in just 10 minutes with interval training.

Cardio-Centric Exercises

As you may know, I’m a Pure Barre instructor, so I use the term “cardio-centric” from Pure Barre to describe exercises that get my heart rate up. Here’s the workout I did today as part of my bounce back from Thanksgiving:

• Burpees
• Lunge Jumps
• Plank Jacks
• Jump Squats
• Mountain Climbers

I did 3 sets of 15 for this workout. I try to minimize the amount of time between each exercise and then rest for 60 seconds between sets. Check out my Instagram for full video coverage of this workout!

Run, Run, Run

I feel like there are two types of people: those who love to run and those who’d rather do anything else. I love running because it’s relaxing, almost therapeutic, for me. It helps me clear my mind. But, if you don’t enjoy running, then I encourage you to find some type of cardio that you do enjoy and try that instead this week. Whether it’s walking, cycling, swimming, or boxing, I hope you find a low-impact activity that gets you breathing and sweating!

3. Drink More Water

Here’s my final (and easiest) tip to help you bounce back after all the carbs and sugar from Thanksgiving: drink more water! This may seem counterintuitive, but drinking more water can actually reduce bloating. Water is so essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the greatest part is that you can start RIGHT NOW! I use this swell bottle to track how much water I’m drinking each day. Plus it keeps your water ice cold for up to 24 hours.

Thanksgiving was amazing, but I’m so excited to get back on track this week. If you have any questions, comments, or just want to chat, please reach out to me, I’d love to hear from you! Let’s do this!!

Make it a great week!

xoxo,

Gabie