Christmas Weight Worries? How To Lose Weight After the Holidays
It’s that season where you’ll be invited to work parties, family gatherings, dinner with friends, and most likely add on some extra pounds. Even though you know you should be careful eating certain types of foods because you’re dieting, Christmas is always that time where you take things easier because you want to enjoy your time with everyone. You also don’t want to be the downer during a time of togetherness, love, joy and fulfillment. Therefore, this post is not going to tell you NOT to enjoy yourself during the holidays but will provide you tips for afterwards which work amazingly well.
Let’s get started with 7 simple tips you can follow to help you lose weight after the holidays.
Drink A lot Of Water
It’s no secret after the holidays your stomach has expanded and craving more food than it normally does. Since it was the Christmas season, you probably kept grabbing delicious food at a party…right? However, the holidays are now over so it’s time to build that willpower back up. The next time you feel hungry at odd times, grab a bottle of water because it will help you feel full. (This is not to supplement eating. You still need to eat a well-balanced meals, filled with protein, grain, and fruits and vegetables.)
Set Realistic Goals
This is a great tip for anything you’re doing that involves reaching specific goals. It’s important to set smaller realistic goals compared to bigger ones because each smaller one is a level of motivation. After the holidays, if you are looking to lose 10 pounds, write down weight loss goals at an interval of 0.5 pounds each so you get that gratifying feeling of accomplishment quickly. Think how you motivated you will feel when you notice that 0.5 pound decrease—you’ll want to keep pushing forward.
Eat More Often
You might be thinking this is crazy; however Studies suggest when you eat smaller meals 4-6 times a day it’s better for your weight loss. The secret is making sure you get the right amount of protein, carbs, and fat. Unlike your Christmas binge which included chocolates, cake, stuffing, rice, and sauces, these smaller meals should be high in protein and low in fat.
Exercise
Maybe you were exercising before the holidays and want to start back up right after to lose weight even more quickly. Even though your diet is 80% of your weight loss, it’s important you have a solid routine in place to accelerate the process even more. The good news is an exercise routine 3-4 times per week incorporated with an awesome diet can help shed weight faster. A quick search in Google will help you find awesome HIIT (high-intensity Interval training) cardio routines that will blast weight right off.
Explore Diet Programs
It can be hard sticking to a diet program you don’t enjoy, coming up with awesome recipes every time you prepare a meal. For a few days you’ll eat certain meals without an issue, but then will begin to get bored of the recipe. However, nowadays things couldn’t be easier because all you need to do is google weight loss diets for fast, easy recipes. For example, here is a quick search in Google for the phrase “weight loss diets” –
You can also visit weight loss hubs where people share dieting tips.
Avoid Alcohol
Alcohol is one of the worst ways to put on weight because it’s all sugar and carbs you are taking in. Not to mention, during the holiday season there is a lot of wine, liquor, and beer flowing around so it can get very tempting to drink. This isn’t to say don’t enjoy yourself, but after the holidays if you are serious about weight loss, it’s important you cut out or down the alcohol. Here are a few rules to follow if you decide to drink alcohol while you’re cutting weight:
- Always eat while drinking
- Know which drinks make you hungrier than others
- Stick to 1-2 drinks maximum
- Beware of the craving for carbs the next day
- Vodka has fewer calories per shot than most alcoholic beverages
Take A Break
Notice when you don’t give yourself at least one binge day to eat whatever you want you go on a 4-day binge sooner or later? If you are dieting, give yourself a day to eat what you want so you can get rid of any cravings out of your system. This will protect you from higher cravings and longer binges later. Perhaps give yourself Saturdays off to binge since it’s a weekend and you’re out with friends. No matter what day you choose, stick to it.
Featured photo credit: fitnesstogether.com via fitnesstogether.com
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