Weight Loss After The Holidays

The first time you jump on the scale after the holidays, it might be a particularly traumatizing experience. Weight has a way of creeping up on you at this time of the year. You might even be one of those who is afraid to look at the number on the scale. Yes, I know, it’s time for a killer weight loss strategy!

As you may know from reading my blog, I’m NOT a quick weight loss advocate.  I believe in the slow and steady lifestyle approach.  However, I know those holiday pounds on your hips or in your belly don’t feel good.  So let’s talk about a few quick and easy strategies to get the weight loss effort moving in the right direction.

 

For a start, consider limiting or cutting out alcohol until you get back down to your desired weight. Alcohol is just empty calories (and a lot of them) and I’d rather have you concentrate on EATING calories instead DRINKING them. If you really can’t do without your beloved alcohol, consider pouring less of it and having it less often.

After the holidays, it’s common to feel incredibly bloated. Often times this is due to a higher refined carbohydrate intake and/or water retention.  The fix for this? Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, and cut back on refined and processed grain products (like bread, cookies, cakes, pies, etc). This will help you drop excess water weight, and you can replace the non-nutritious flour-based products with vegetables and fruits.

One of the reasons for weight gain over holidays is many of us over-indulge on rich treats and we eat larger portions. Now that the holiday is over, it’s time to push the rich treats to the back burner as occasional treats, and go back to normal portions.  Truth be told, I believe that most of us who are struggling with weight issues have probably fallen victim to PORTION issues :-).  If you’re looking for weight loss after the holidays—look to put smaller portions on your plate. Plain and simple!!

Aside from portion control, one of my best weight loss solutions for you is to write down your food intake each day.  Yep.  I know.  It’s tedious.  However, IT WORKS!  You’d be amazed at all the little things that go into your mouth that you forget about when you mentally recall your daily food intake.  When you WRITE DOWN your daily intake—it’s easier to keep track of what goes in your mouth!

Finally, in your effort to get on the weight loss wagon after the holidays, I’d suggest  you start making an appointment with yourself for regular exercise.  I like interval training to spur on faster weight loss, but if you’re  new to exercise, just getting out for a brisk walk, a hike, or some time on cardio machine at your health club is certainly a start.

Weight loss after the holidays doesn’t have to be daunting. In fact, if you only gained a few pounds over the holidays, and you employ just one of the strategies I’ve told you and return to your  normal, non-holiday eating patterns, you should be back to normal weight within a couple of weeks.

Get out the the “indulgent” calories, be aware of what you’re eating and your portions, and schedule exercise.  That’s it.  There’s your post-holiday weight loss plan!

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Holiday Calorie Control Tip #1

I know you know this.

You know you know this.

Fail to plan, plan to fail.

You can’t just HOPE you’re going to behave yourself at holiday parties. You can’t just do the same old things you’ve been doing. You can’t just  miss breakfast, have a light lunch and then go to a party filled with temptation and not go a little insane on the cheese platter ;-).

You have to plan your meals.

You have to plan your workouts.

You have to set your goals in stone.

You don’t want to be the person that comes out of the holidays 5 to 10 pounds heavier, do you?

If you don’t plan your strategy to prevent weight gain, well, you can PLAN on getting some new clothes that fit your new size (yuck).

This is far from doom and gloom. You can still enjoy your favorite foods at parties. You can still have a great time.

But what you can’t do is just free-for-all it and stuff your face with everything put in front of you. You know that.

Tell you what: Plan on taking a nice 30 minute walk this weekend and do some solid thinking about what your plan will be. And when you get back home, put it on paper and commit to it. Seriously–writing stuff down helps you focus on it and keep it at the top of your mind.

Think about how great you’ll feel about yourself when January comes after you’ve followed your plan. Oh, and be sure to reward yourself to by doing something special for yourself (see my P.P.S. for an idea).

Yours in health,

Becky

PS – Speaking of eating well over the holidays, as a proud Prograde Nutrition partner I should let you know that Prograde is having a heck of a Holiday Blow Out on ALL of their awesome products. Everything you need, including the coupon code to save 15% on all Prograde Nutrition products is right here: http://lifesportfitness.getprograde.com/specials.html

Hurry because this deal expires this Friday, December 11th at 11:59pm EST.

P.P.S.  Want to treat yourself or someone you love to something awesome in January? How about a one week FREE trial at a lifeSport Fitness boot camp in San Jose or Los Gatos in January?  I just opened my “1 week free trial” program today!  Get on the list now if you want to get in the best shape of your life in 2010:  http://www.lifesportbootcamp.com .  The first free trial week starts January 4th!