Avoiding holiday weight gain may sound as feasible as Santa fitting down millions of chimneys on Christmas Eve, but we promise these are logical strategies to stay on track. Many of us experience weight gain during the festive winter months and unfortunately we typically don’t get all of it back off.
“When I look in the mirror I see a more confident person who is genuinely happy.”
The holiday season for some can be more challenging than wonderful. When the days grow shorter, many people slow down, are more fatigued, have a tougher time falling asleep and waking, difficulty with concentration and have intense carb cravings with related weight gain.
Although you may want to stay snuggled up in your warm bed, winter shouldn’t be a time that your fitness plans hibernate too. Especially with all of those holiday treats around. With the right attitude and mix of exercises, winter can actually be a fantastic time to mix up your workouts, get creative and even reignite your love of fitness by trying new, fun activities. Not to mention, exercise can help you beat that winter blues that is so common.
Did you know that about 50% of Americans gain 5 to 7 pounds during the holiday season? It’s shocking, but true! That’s about 500 extra calories each day from Thanksgiving to New Years. Just one slice of pie, 3 or 4 cookies, or even 2 brownies will add 500 calories to your diet.
1. Know before you go With most restaurants these days, you can go online and look at their menus. See what dishes look healthy—grilled items, salads, vegetable sides, and so forth. Decide before you go what you’ll order, and stick to your decision once you get there. Collect the menus in the restaurants you frequent […]
When calories add up, so do carbs, fats & sugars! Make sure you measure!
Let’s be honest, during cold weather months you may have slacked off on your health a tiny bit. In fact, it’s probable. Statistically, people gain weight in winter. During the spring, we make these big plans to get the extra weight off, then months go by and we still haven’t done anything to achieve this.
As simple as it may seem, water is quite possibly the single most important motivator in losing weight and keeping it off. Most of us take it for granted. We may or may not get in our required 8 glasses every day, but water may be the only true “magic potion” for permanent weight loss.