Cheer it up and stay camera ready through the holidays

Choose wisely when treating yourself at the holidays

If FUN is not an officially  required skill for an actor, it should be. I mean after all what we do for work IS called… a … play…ok kinda cheesey, but still… We do like to have fun, and the holidays seem to be a particularly good time  for us to …ehem… fortify that “special skill”.

Yet, we’d rather not look and feel like the flat champagne the day after New Years…. You know … the one you drank so much of, you forgot to put the stopper in the bottle… yeah…

‘But Anna, seriously, it’s the holidays, I mean, really what is one or two meals in the broad scheme of things?’

Well my theorizing thespians, all we need to gain a few pounds is to go outside our daily calorie burn for about 3000 calories, so let’s see: that brownie you ate that your fellow castmate baked … that was a cool 450 cals; your extra egg nog and Irish Whiskey at the party last night, another400, the chocolates and cookies at your theatre company’s holiday shin dig… 200-and up… you see where I’m going with this… it’s not hard.

Ok, now that I have your attention: let’s get down to business.

Oh lord, I just hear my old acting teacher from Stella Adler Conservatory yelling at me to BE SPECIFIC… okay, okay Alice…

So here are some pretty simple suggestions to make sure the only extra 10 you gain are the number of auditions on your calender next week…

Firstly, WORKOUT! Get thee to the gym my fellow comedians! The best and fastest way to get rid of that extra glass of bubbly or not-so- smidge of Christmas dessert is to MOVE YOUR BODY.
In addition sweating will get rid of the water retention, put some rosy color back in those sallow cheeks, force you to take in more water to keep flushing your system, and probably make you feel you’ve got some energy (at least to get to the next party). Convincing, right? Gets better…

I am gonna go out on a limb here, and imagine that most of you can hang for a 30 min session on the treadmill, bike or … ok fine, the elliptical… but only if there is NOTHING else available.
And if you are really feeling like fortifying your armor … lift some weights… strengthen your body so you aren’t running it down during this time of FETE-ing. More on that in another post…

Next; Eat protein. Yah.. you know, if I’ve said this once I’ve said it a zillion times. Lean protein will keep you fuller so aren’t eating so much crap while making merry, and it will feed your hungry muscles … so at least when you do eat crap while making merry, your muscles will have the strength to endure a workout at the gym and burn it off! I’m so on roll now!

Ensuite (oh, that’s just Frenchie talk for NEXT): Pick your poison… make a decision before hand about what your indulgence will be, and let everything else go… you don’t have to have everything. Decide what really makes the season for you… is it that extra Christmas cookie? Or the extra Christmas cocktail?? You don’t have to answer that… I daren’t … though most of you probably know my choice …

Finally: Drink water… yah, it’s like the protein thing; oh the things water does for our bodies: everything from keeping your skin shiny to moving all that  ingested holiday cheer toward the … ehem… exit… if you know what I mean …that’s your visual… I am merely making the suggestion…
Ok. Seriously though;  Let’s review: 1. Workout. Work it off. Sweat. 2. Eat your chicken breast, Tuna, egg whites, and whey… in a word: Protein 3. Choose… your indulgence … choose it wisely … 4. Pour; drink; rinse with water.

Follow these few tips, and fill the camera lense or room with your talent, not you holiday over-indulgence.

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