Millions of calories will be consumed this holiday season, which means millions of people will experience unhealthy weight gain over the Christmas period. If you’ve been working hard to stick to your diet and exercise program and don’t want to ruin all your progress over the coming weeks, follow these six belly-busting tips.
Workout in the morning
If you are one of the fortunate people who don’t have to work during the entire holiday break, then start exercising in the morning. Several studies tout the benefits of morning workouts, which include a boost in productivity and making better food choices.
Eat from smaller plates
Plate size matters. Research has shown that people who eat from smaller plates reached satiety just the same as if they had eaten from a bigger plate. It means you’ll feel full from eating less food.
Find a workout buddy
It’s easier trudging through the snow, rain or wind to get to the gym with a workout buddy by your side. Find a physically active family, friend and/or co-worker who wouldn’t mind exercising with you this holiday season.
Limit Your Snacking
If you’re constantly munching on sweets, cookies and other holiday snacks at home and at the office, there’s no way you’ll be able to avoid the Christmas bulge. Snacking rapidly racks up the calories, and before you know it, you’ll be onto the next hole in your belt. While you’ve earned yourself some well-deserved treats this holiday season, it’s important to manage your treat-eating with care.
Drink more water
Forget eggnog! The health benefits of water are endless. One of those benefits is that it helps you eat less food by taking up space in your stomach. While the consensus is to drink 8 glasses of water per day, not everyone requires the same amount of water. For example, an extreme athlete will need more water than your average couch-potato. Instead, you should aim to drink half of your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 200lb, try and drink about 100 ounces of water per day.
Don’t eat while watching TV or on the computer
Most people tend to eat more food while watching something. When you’re concentrating on something else like the TV or the computer, it’s very easy to continue munching away without even realising you’re doing it. If you want to manage your holiday calories, it’s best to limit your eating to the dinner table or somewhere where you can solely focus on what you’re eating.
While it would be unrealistic to think that you can get through the Christmas season without gaining a little weight (it happens to all of us), with a little forethought and care, you can enjoy your holidays without doing any serious damage to your diet.
