Does Your Christmas Meal Fit Into Your Training Plan?

Bodybuilders like to eat. So do athletes for that matter.

While they may appear lean, ripped and svelte in competition, the amount these guys and girls have to eat to maintain muscle and strength, train numerous times per week, and often more than once a day, and keep a constant supply of energy could shock you.

This is why, despite it’s connections with food binges, stodgy calorie dense foods, weight gain and eating so much you finish the day in a sugar coma, Christmas dinner is an awesome time for bodybuilders and athletes to eat for optimum performance.

That said, the high calorie treats on offer at the Christmas dinner table should be seen as potential performance enhancers.

First up, before you stuff your face, you need to plan your festive season accordingly. Throughout the year, it’s highly likely you've been on a fairly rigorous eating plan. While this will have included many higher calorie items, and your diet might not have been as strict as if you were trying to lose weight, you’ll still have had guidelines in place, and these should be kept to over Christmas.

If you’re used to eating four to six meals per day, stick with that. Fasting for a short period of the day can be a useful trick for weight loss guys and girls to cut calories, but it’s the last thing you want to do.

Chances are your regular eating pattern is based around training sessions, and hopefully you’re still training over the holidays, so make sure you remain regimented in that respect.

Balance each meal properly too. The idea of splitting your plate into thirds, and aiming for a third protein, a third carbs and a third fat is a great approach. Your usual in-season meal might be chicken breast, brown rice, broccoli and olive oil, but don’t feel like you have to stick to this over Christmas, provided you hit a balance of each macronutrient at each meal. Your plate might be turkey or sausage meat for the protein, mashed potatoes or roasted root vegetables for carbs, and some pate for your fat source.

A final general pointer is to keep your protein intake up. Besides turkey and maybe some cooked ham or bacon, Christmas dinner tends to be heavily weighted in the favor of carbs and fats. Protein is absolutely vital for muscle preservation and growth, as well as for hormone production and keeping a healthy immune system, so make sure you’re still getting yours in.

Read More: So, What's In Your Fridge This Christmas?

This could mean something as simple as having a protein shake before you go out for dinner, or even drinking a glass of skimmed milk while you’re eating. If the worst comes to the worst, ask for extra turkey.

If your request is turned down, flex your biceps and DEMAND more turkey – that’s bound to work.

An Athlete’s Christmas: Recipe Ideas

We've established you can have some leeway over Christmas and enjoy yourself. Those extra calories and carbs will help your finely tuned body recover, fend off illness and build muscle while those same calories and carbs will make your lazy, sedentary friends and family start January carrying even more blubber than they were last year.

Make Your Own Mash

Don’t fancy fat-laden white mashed potato? Try a sweet potato mash instead. Keep the skins on for their fibre content, and use coconut oil along with some cinnamon for a sweet mash, or go for organic grass fed butter with some paprika or cayenne pepper for a savory twist.

Pie: The Healthy Way

Pumpkin is a pretty solid food for any athlete. It’s high in fiber, low in sugar and has plenty of vitamins and minerals too. The downside to regular pumpkin pie though, is the sugar content, not only in the pie filling itself, but in the crust.

Use oats and a small amount of butter to make your base, then leave it to set in the fridge. For an awesome topping, use chopped pecans or walnuts, along with light whipped cream, or a protein sludge, made by mixing whey or casein protein powder with a dash of milk or water.

Double Protein Turkey

Turkey is a pretty fantastic source of protein as it is, but there’s always room for more protein.

Cover the whole bird in bacon for roasting, or if you’re cooking breast or wing on its own, just wrap a rasher around each piece. For an added protein hit when cooking the whole bird, make a stuffing using chestnuts and bacon lardons.

Protein-Packed Sprouts 

Bacon to the rescue again.

No one can argue against the many benefits of the vitamins, minerals and fibre in sprouts, but they certainly have an acquired taste. Fortunately, bacon not only makes everything taste great, but they give sprouts a much needed protein boost. Along with garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil this makes the ultimate veggie, protein and fat combo.

Read More: Staying on a Weight Loss Diet during this Christmas: Healthy Holiday Treats

Leftovers 

Crush all your leftover veg, form it into fist-sized patties and pan fry them in just a small amount of butter, olive oil or coconut oil. Serve them with cold meat, and for a low-sugar condiment, opt for hot sauce, English mustard, or horseradish.