Q: How do I avoid the 5-8lbs the average person gains during the holiday season?
With the holiday season right around the corner, it is time to get a handle on your weight and your body fat level before the feasting starts! If you are having trouble with your weight then you are not alone. Let’s start getting our weight under control now so we can enjoy the holidays and start teaching important lessons to our children so we can ensure that they will have a long and healthy life.
Follow these Four Rules of Fat Loss:
1. Increase your activity level.
Studies show that those participants whose activity levels remained high did not gain weight and some even lost weight during the holidays. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, take the kids to the park instead of watching TV, put down the Wii and go play the actual sport. Exercising with your kids is a great way to spend quality time and to teach them healthy habits that will last a lifetime. Don’t use the holidays as an excuse to skimp on your workout routine. If anything, step it up a notch as the holiday parties are much more fun when you are feeling good about the way you look!
2. Control your portions.
Of course you will want to enjoy the Halloween treats and Thanksgiving classics and you should. Just keep an eye on your portions. It’s not the plate of turkey and stuffing that is the problem, it is the second and third helpings that will end up on your waistline. If there is a particular Halloween candy that you just can’t resist, don’t buy a huge bag and keep it in the house. Buy treats that are not your favorites to give out and treat yourself to one or two of the ones that you like. On Thanksgiving if it’s the pumpkin pie you love, don’t stuff yourself with the crackers and cheese that you could eat anytime. Save your calories for the ones you really want.
3. Don’t starve yourself.
A big mistake though is to “save” your all of your daily calories for that one big meal later in the day. Never do that. Eat breakfast every day and some small snacks so you are not starving by the time dinner comes. If you starve all day you are setting yourself up for failure. Studies show over and over that those who skip breakfast and don’t snack end up overeating at dinner and are more likely to gain weight. It is important to keep your metabolism running high all day and you accomplish that with small meals eaten frequently throughout the day, even during holidays!
4. Start strength training tomorrow.
Strength training is the number one way to increase your metabolism. By adding lean muscle tissue your body will burn more calories every day, even at rest! The reason your metabolism slows as you get older is that you lose 1-2lbs of lean muscle per year. For every pound of muscle that you lose you will most likely add a pound of fat and lose a percentage of your metabolism. The good news is you can reverse this process with as little as 30 minutes of strength training performed 3x/week. Even better it will improve everything from your tennis game to your mood to the way you look in your bathing suit! It’s not about big muscles and bulk as strength training has come a long way in the past few years. Think more Michael Phelps and Dara Torres and less Arnold Schwarzenegger.
By following the Four Rules of Fat Loss you can minimize or eliminate holiday weight gain and get started on the track of long term weight control and fat loss and that means Happy Holidays for everyone!
Looking for a way to stay in shape that's not so hard on your joints? Try walking. Walking improves aerobic fitness, increases the body's cardiovascular capacity, and your lung power. Walking is one of the safest workouts for your body, and is still effective enough to help you shed any unwanted pounds, or get started on your journey towards a healthy lifestyle.