The festive season is upon us which often means a lot of Christmas events and an abundance of food and alcohol. I like to celebrate as well but try to be sane about it. Many people can undo a lot of hard work throughout the year over the month or two of the holiday season. You can celebrate and not be deprived and maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout this time. If you do not struggle with your weight then you probably don’t have to worry too much. If weight is an ongoing struggle for you then here are some tips to help you over the holiday period.     

So how many meals should you eat each day? The short answer is that you should eat as many or few meals as you want as long as you are eating healthy. For the longer answer keep reading below. I personally eat 2-3 meals a day as it fits my goals and lifestyle. It is possible to have 1-10 meals per day and still be perfectly healthy, it all depends on the reasons you are eating that amount of meals.

One of the longest lasting myths within the fitness world is the idea that eating smaller meals more frequently is a healthier way to live. This has been told so many times that most of us take it as a fact. The reality is there is little evidence to support this notion. Here are a two of the most popular statements:

The human mind likes to work in absolutes. The cliché of black and white thinking can be seen everywhere. Health and fitness is no different. There are endless statements from people on all sides with claims of either good or bad things in relation to health and fitness. The reality is that like most things in life, health and fitness and most things associated with it exist on a continuum.

This continuum is what makes things so confusing. One person said salt is bad and another said salt is good, who do you trust and what health decision do you make? Often there is so much information out there now that people struggle to decipher the reality from the endless black and white. 

We are all different, different people with different lives. A lot of fitness regimes and diets are very generalised and may not apply to a lot of people. Even where these programs work they may not be optimal for you as an individual. This is why I would always advise against trying to emulate the workouts or lifestyle of anybody else. You can try it out but the chances are trying to do the same workouts as a professional athlete is going to leave you worn out and not in optimal health. 

How are we different?

There are some major differences between us. Some big factors are your gender and age as well as lifestyle factors such as how much you sleep, how well you sleep, how many hours you work each week, whether your job is physical or where or not you are you stressed from work.Your genetics will also determine how well you respond to exercise and diet.