Post-Holiday Comebacks

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Happy Monday! I'm having one of those post-weekend hangovers that has nothing to do with drinking and everything to do with a lack of sleep and overall candy consumption. Okay, maybe just a little bit of drinking. But... Ick.

We went to see Nero at the Congress Theater on Saturday night (fun fact: Justin's way of first telling me he "liked me" was by sending me a Nero song called "Me and You").

It was an interesting crowd (and light show!) to say the least... and the band didn't hit the stage until 12:15am. Meaning we weren't hitting the hay until 2 or 3. Meaning getting up at 8am to do a Body By Science workout was B-R-U-T-A-L.



Add to that the 24 mile interval bike ride we did and Easter candy consumption and you've got lack of sleep, killer weights workout, killer cardio workout, and candy overload. We were in need of what I like to call a comeback.

What's a comeback? It's when you need to recover from a weekend (or week or month or year) of bad decisions. You might need a comeback when you've coming down from a holiday weekend (or a weekend in Vegas?) or perhaps when you're returning from a week on the beach in Mexico. It means your body is pissed off and needs recovery assistance.

Anybody else making a comeback this week? Here are some guidelines:

BEVERAGES & HYDRATION:

• Drink lots of water! You need to flush your system, which can't happen without water.
• DO NOT drink soda (even diet coke)! This slams your liver with even more work to do (sugars, fake sugars, processed ingredients, lots of chemicals). 
• DRINK MORE WATER. Yes, it's worth mentioning twice.
• Trade coffee for tea. It sounds rough... but coffee can be rough on your system, whereas tea will give you the metabolism and energy boost without adding too many harsh or acidic elements to your body.

FOOD & ENERGY:

• Eat lots of vegetables and fruits (water and fiber-rich) Click here for recipe suggestions (but avoid the sweets!)!
• Watch the sugar. Seriously. Even sugar substitutes. In fact, it  might be best to avoid sweets as a whole (because you'll get enough natural sugar from fruit). Click here for recipe suggestions (but avoid the sweets!)!
• Get that fiber! Focus on salads and consider taking a fiber-rich supplement like Metamucil. Click here for recipe suggestions (but avoid the sweets!)!

EXERCISE & MOVEMENT:

• Within the next few days, plan a day of cardio... Cardio will get your metabolism going and help burn off the crap you consumed over the weekend. Best results would likely come from a full body cardio routine including HIIT or Tabata style intervals, which speed up your metabolism for 48 hours following the exercise. Click here for workout suggestions!
• a day of yoga... Yoga helps you detox by releasing toxins from your muscles via deep stretches. You're also likely to find a bit of peace of mind during Yoga practices, which is always a bonus, especially if you're the type that easily feels guilty for falling off the wagon! Click here for workout suggestions!
• and a day of weights... adding a day of weights is not essential --  but you'll definitely reap some benefits. A good weights workout will burn calories by stimulating muscle repair and will also help you feel more "solid" (which is a peace-of-mind boost for me - am I alone in that?!). Click here for workout suggestions!