It’s official, the holidays are upon us, and that can only mean one thing – a smorgasbord of food. This special time of year can be downright detrimental to any best-laid weigh loss goals. To help you get through the next few months without watching those weight loss goals slip way, here are five easy tips to keep you on track:
1. Know your limits – It’s hard to refrain from the copious amounts of cookies, fudge, sweets, sausage, cheese, and other sundries of great food this time of year. This is a perfect time to know your limits. No, you don’t have to completely refrain from those awesome sugar cookies, but instead of consuming five or six, just enjoy one.
You can also ensure you stick to low consumptions by eating slowly. Enjoy that summer sausage the vendor sent you. There is no need to race to the end of it. Eating the great items that spring up this time of year is not a bad thing, but make sure you resist the urge to dump an entire plate of candies down your gullet.
2. Adjust that diet – The holidays often bring on parties, buffets, and potlucks. Time to start your weight loss dietary planning. You may know days in advance that there is going to be a buffet of food at work one Friday afternoon. Adjust your diet to allow for some enjoyment during this time. This may mean you have to eat some plain oatmeal with dry toast for breakfast and follow up with a simple salad for dinner. Know that you are going to consume more calories, sugars, and fats at lunch and adjust your eating habits accordingly.
3. Keep liquor at bay – Now you don’t need to cut out grandma’s special alcoholic Egg Nog completely, but you may want to show a bit of restraint on how many glasses you consume. Remember, alcohol still contains weight loss killing calories no matter if it is hard liquor or a favorite beer. Just as you may only enjoy one or two cookies a day, you should limit your alcoholic beverage to one or two max.
There is a second reason for this limiting, and that is fending off munchies. You know how you get a killer case of the munchies after you have consumed a few drinks. Nothing will kill your weight loss goals quicker than carefree snacking. Just avoid this situation by keeping a lid on grannies special Egg Nog.
4. Exercise – Yeah, it maybe cold outside, but that should not stop you from exercising. You are inevitably taking in more food, which means exercising is that much more important to your weight loss goals. This is also a great time to hit the gym before all the New Years resolution people show up. Not only will you be ahead of the game, but you can enjoy the treats at this time of year a bit more guilt free as you have at least worked off one bite of food at the gym.
5. Enjoy the delectable food – The most important part here is to give you permission to enjoy the food this time of year. Not only will you enjoy the food, but also it is proven that allowing yourself to indulge in even just one piece of fudge will go a long way to binge eating. So, enjoy the bounty this special time brings to kitchen tables everywhere, just do is smartly.
The holidays may have your weight loss goals running in fear, but there is no reason for that. Enjoy this special time of year, keep exercising, and allow yourself just a bit of enjoyment. Besides, you have all year to be mad at yourself for breaking your eating rules.
