Do you find it almost impossible to remain conscious and controversial about weight and nutrition during the holidays? Of course you do. More than half of all Americans are overweight: you are not alone.
A new government study can give you a ray of hope: a study shows that Americans only get about one pound over holidays. The study showed that participation in events is influenced by two main factors during the holidays: their level of hunger and the level of their activity. In other words: those who reported that they were less active or more hungry during the holidays, had the greatest weight gain.
Therefore, common sense says: if you can focus on how to deal with these two things, you will probably win your personal battle for weight loss. At the very least, you will win without adding more weight to what is already waiting to be lost.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of weight,” says Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. "Preventing weight gain is much easier and better than actually gaining weight, and then trying to lift it again."
So the answer seems simple: eat less and practice more. The reality of implementation, of course, is much more complicated.
The good news is that most people overestimate how much weight they gained over the holidays. Less than 10% get 5 pounds or more.
The bad news is that a small amount of weight is never lost. One kilogram of weight gain is a fairly small amount, but since it is usually not lost again: weight is added over time to obesity.
Now we all know that there are tons of tips and around this time of year designed to help us not to use this extra pound or two during the holidays. Unfortunately, what is not usually talked about: the reality of everyday holiday stress and situations. Let's look at the tips ... along with their reality checks ... in depth:
Weight Loss Tip 1: Stay Active. The best thing you can do is try to stick to your regular schedule and routine.
Testing the festive reality: it's pretty hard to have some decent routine in the tense months of November and December. Busy people tend to donate yoga, take long walks and go to the gym, because they need time for extra things like decorating the house, cooking, cleaning before visitors get there, and of course: shopping.
Good news: A walk through the mall and shopping is a great exercise, and therefore cleaning the house. In addition to these activities, the decoration can be quite intense: you go up and down to hang things; lifting, hauling, and dragging boxes from storage; bending, twisting and turning to make it look good. So don't beat yourself up by not getting into the gym ... you get a lot of activity, and every bit helps!
Weight Loss Tips 2: Do not allow yourself to starve too much. If you go to a party and go hungry, everything will look more impressive than usual. Because of this, of course, you will eat much more. Try starting every day with a good, solid breakfast - especially something with protein. And when you're at a party, try chewing on vegetables to make you feel full. These two things will help your hunger to stay in control and, in turn, will help you to refrain from "eating" everything that you see, just because you are hungry.
Testing the festive reality: we are all very busy during the holidays, and it is not always possible to not forget to eat - not to mention eating well, especially in the morning when we may have overslept and are now late for everything. And healthy eating at a party is not always possible: not everyone in this country serves vegetable plates, salads or fruit bowls. Sometimes the only things on the site are junk: chips, candy and cookies.
Here's a suggestion: try taking your own vegetarian plate to a party where you know it won't be there. The quick and easy way to do this is to simply buy a bag or two of pre-cut vegetables and a little ranch salad. Also, eat a decent meal before heading to the party. Do not overdo it, but do not make a snack. Food first of all will help you to simply “find fault” for the worst of the proposed holiday offerings.
Weight Loss Tip 3: Stay away from food. Literally. Just do not go near the buffet, snacks or delicacies ... and everything will be fine.
Festive reality check: in most cases, food is everywhere. And even if it’s not right in front of your face, you will surely smell it! Attempting to simply “stay away from it” is rather unrealistic — and for some of us, this may seem like torture. And for most people: when you don’t have something, you want more. Therefore, trying to stay away from food is likely to just make you stop being worse than otherwise.
Try this instead: allow yourself whatever you want. But with the catch. First: take only half the amount you usually do. And take only one food. Eat it and enjoy it without guilt. Then wait 20-30 minutes before you get something else. Then repeat the process: one item, half the size of a serving, as usual, enjoy it without fault, then wait before you get something else.
Allowing yourself to eat gets rid of the mentality “I can’t achieve it (and therefore I’m more confident about it”) “This allows you to enjoy good food and holidays without beating yourself. This is great and can really help in how you view food and eat in general. Only half of them, though, will help you not to take so many calories, fat, sugar or other bad things that you usually avoid. And then, waiting for 20-30 minutes before you get something else, you will help your body understand when this is enough ... or too much. Thus, you are much less likely to overdo it, and then physically feel terribly physically.
Weight Loss Tip 4: Put on a slightly stretched cloth. This should help you feel quicker and not allow you to eat too much food.
Festive reality test: we want to wear looser fabrics because we look forward to eating all this wonderful food! Yes, wearing something dense can help us not to return for a second help in the potato ... or it can spoil a favorite outfit.
In the end, how you approach this hint depends on you and you alone. Make your decision and be pleased with it.
Weight Loss Tip 5: Keep your portions small. Try loading lettuce and vegetables and take only tiny quantities of anything else.
Check the festive reality. Taking just the “bite size”, everything will put you in the non-mental state mentioned earlier. You will feel that you cannot do something, and you will need it.
Instead, try the tip noted above: take half the size you usually do. Attempting to have a small piece of cake will cause an appetite for more, but the whole part will be a little overboard, especially if there are 5 different cakes for you. So try using the actual sample: cut to half the normal size. This allows you to have a “whole cut” and more than a few bites. Then wait about 20 minutes before you go and try the next cake. Even if you end up eating a little bit of all 5 cakes, having half the size of each slice, you have drastically reduced the amount of calories, carbohydrates and sugars compared to what you would have with whole slices. And you still feel full and full, and not deprived and offended.
So, you have this: 5 different, common holiday weight loss and food, and then checking the reality of each of them and the proposed compromise, which should help you enjoy the holidays fully, without depriving yourself of the great food that we all look forward to.
No matter what you decide to do, remember that in fact there are happy holidays!
