​After a summer cut (you can read about that here) and a couple of weeks spent experimenting to find my maintenance calories, I started to bulk in mid-November. At the time of writing this article, I was one month into the process. The plan is to stay in this phase for at least four to six months to build muscle and increase strength. I say “at least” because I may keep bulking for longer or start another cut before next summer, depending on my rate of progress and the amount of body fat gained by then.

​Many of us look forward to the winter holidays to travel, spend time with family, and “eat all the food”. I’m not one of those people.
 
I worry about replacing my secure, solid routine with the unpredictable chaos family celebrations can be. I get anxious about leaving my home for a different house in a different country (my own family is in Italy, my partner’s in America), with different rules to learn and respect. I dread having less control over food and exercise than I do in the comfort of my daily life. For all these reasons, making the decision to go on holiday in the first place is a feat of strength. In fact, “travelling abroad at least once” was one of my long-term goals for the six-month period from September 2018 to March 2019.
 
In the past, my go-to strategy to face holiday fear was to shame myself for my anxieties and try to “go with the flow”. It was a disaster. I can’t go with the flow. Without a plan, I feel lost and anxious, so I become rigid and unforgiving about everything else (food, exercise, etc.) in a lacklustre attempt to be flexible about what’s going to happen next. It may sound like a paradox, but the “flow” makes me more strict.
 
Now I don’t dismiss those fears or reject my Type A personality anymore. Instead, I try to channel that personality into finding ways to curb anxiety and enhance flexibility. In this article, I’m going to share some of these strategies. If anything I said so far resonates with you, feel free to borrow my tips!

​When you’re trying to get healthy, the scale can be your biggest enemy or the scariest monster under your bed – literally, if you keep yours there like I did. The numbers on that display can dictate whether you’ll feel good or bad about yourself on Weigh-in Day. I used to step on my scale once a week with a shiver of trepidation. Would it bring good or bad news? Could I have a piece of toast for dinner or was it going to be plain chicken and broccoli again?

​Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be your life just because you want to get a bit more in shape. When you get to know the science behind the numbers on the scale, you’ll start to see it as no more than one of many helpful tools in your fitness toolbox.