The holiday season brings many things including time with family, great gifts, and wonderful seasonal food. Unfortunately, it also potentially brings weight gain along with it. It’s terribly common for people to gain quite a bit of weight in just a few weeks thanks to countless meals and family get-togethers. The food is just so delicious that it’s almost impossible to say no. But with a bit of self-restraint and proper planning, there’s no reason why you have to go on a diet during the holiday season. In fact, you can still indulge in scrumptious food while sharing warm memories with your family. If you do it right, you’ll be able to keep your weight down so that your waistline doesn’t burst by the time New Year’s hits.
Don’t Skip Meals – it might seem like skipping breakfast and lunch in order to get bigger dinner is a logical idea. But if you know anything about metabolism and dieting, you should realize this is extremely unhealthy. You might think that doing it for two weeks won’t cause any problems, but this is one tactic that will always backfire. You’ll essentially be creating incredible cravings that you might not be able to control. You’ll actually end up eating more in many cases while slowing down your metabolism at the same time.
Keep a Log – sometimes when we have a journal that details exactly what we each, it helps to keep us under control. This is exactly what you should work to create, and it might be something you continue after the holiday season. Keep track of what you consume and how many calories you’re taking in every day. If you find yourself getting out of control, it will definitely be noticeable when you have a spreadsheet in front of you.
No Seconds – try your best to stick to the firm rules of not going back for seconds. Go ahead and eat whatever you like and make sure that you try all the traditional favorites. Just put everything on that first plate and limit yourself from going back for seconds or thirds. You should be able to get full from one serving alone, so avoid the excessive calories associated with loading up your plate another time.
Be careful About Drinks and Deserts – remember that calories are calories whether they come from turkey, ham, or a beer. This is a festive season which means more elements like beverages and desserts with every meal. Be careful about raising your overall caloric intake with these elements because they readily provide any nutritional benefits at the same time. Go ahead and indulge on occasion, just so go overboard with these two elements or you’ll be adding to your waistline exponentially.
Enjoy the meal – rather than scarfing down everything you see right away, make sure that you take the time to enjoy the food. This gives your stomach and brain a chance to sing together and tell you that you’re getting full. Eating too fast is a common mistake and not just during the holidays. Make sure that you savor your food and take the time to enjoy the people around you, and appreciate all the work into preparing your meal.
Time for Exercise – it’s not just about food when it comes to keeping yourself trim. During the holidays it’s more important to stay active than ever. You can boost your metabolism and burn off excess calories, and you don’t have to go overboard with anything crazy by joining a gym. You don’t have to embark on the types of exercise conducive for fast weight loss, you just have to stay as active as possible to give yourself more leeway when it comes time to eating. Even something as going for a daily walk will benefit you tremendously during the holiday season.
These tips come from rabbitsadvice.com, a site to find more info on healthy living ranging from better eating to the best home exercise equipment.
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I have to agree with everything you stated in this article. Journaling your food intake is a great way to stay on track. Eating slower is also a great way of not eating too much. Its also great if you keep up your exercise routine during the holiday. If you have a gym membership and don’t have time to go during this holiday schedule then get yourself some of the best fitness DVDs and do a litlle workout at home. There are a lot of these that only take 10 – 20 minutes of your time. http://revupforfitness.com/