Holiday weight gain is inevitable for a lot of people who gather with family this time of year. Here are the best ways to get those pounds off as fast as you can.
Are you one of the countless people who tend to overindulge in good food over the Holiday Season?
If so, then there usually comes a time shortly after the Holidays have ended when you stop and notice that you have gained a little bit of extra weight.
This is common and usually always happens to people around Holiday time when sugary sweets and other rich, high-calorie foods that you don’t normally eat are easily at your disposal.
Although your initial reaction is that it may be merely harmless, the realization is that the extra pounds that you have put on can have some serious side effects in the long run.
Not only will that extra weight have a negative impact on your physique, but this little bit of extra weight could also have a big impact on your health as well. [1]
Holiday Weight Gain Health Risks
Anyone who has experience with gaining excess weight can tell you how there are many risks that seem to just surround you, waiting for the right time to attack you.
These risks include stroke, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and cancer among many others.
But while these risks may be lying dormant and ready to spring up on you at any time, there are many things you can do to avoid them in the first place.
First and foremost, maintaining a healthy weight is your best bet.
When you maintain a healthy weight, you not only keep yourself looking good and feeling good but also keep your overall health in a safe state.
So what’s the best way to maintain a healthy weight and avoid such pitfalls as that dreaded Holiday weight gain?
In this weight loss guide, we’re going to give you some awesome tips you might find both easy and extremely helpful.
1. Make a List
Most people are going to think in terms of New Year’s resolutions here. That IS NOT the case though.
The majority of those who set resolutions at the beginning of the year, end up quitting before they even get started.
This is a simple goal-setting exercise that is going to help you get your priorities straight and give you a clear roadmap to where you want to be.
So to start off with, make a list of simple, specific, realistic but doable weight loss goals.
These should be goals that pertain to the process, such as staying on your meal plan, completing your daily training at the gym, and finishing your cross-training session for the day.
Keeping your goals both simple and realistic enough for you is much easier to accomplish than trying to set a target that is well out of your reach.
You could either set a weekly goal or even better, daily goals, whichever you prefer.
The key is to keep them small and make them something that you can definitely accomplish.
These smaller targets are more manageable and helpful in attaining your ultimate goal, as every accomplishment can be a motivation to do more.
The smaller goals will also be extremely helpful in order to build up your confidence to tackle much larger goals in the future.
2. Increase your Intensity
Increasing the intensity of your workouts is going to help to increase your metabolism and get into fat-burning mode.
Goal setting, as laid out in the previous section, works well with advances in your workouts.
So as an example of setting a realistic daily goal, here are some ways of goals that you can set for your workouts.
One way is that you can aim to increase the overall time of your exercise session.
This type of goal works well when you are performing cardiovascular training.
Aim to stay on the treadmill or Stairmaster for an extra minute.
Another way of setting goals for yourself in your workouts is that you could aim to intensify your workout a bit.
This type of goal works well with weight training sessions.
Many people wear some type of monitor when they are training which provides them the stats for their workout such as heart rate.
Striving to increase your heart rate a couple of more points or a bit higher for a little longer is a great goal for the day.
3. Strive to Lose Weight Gradually
The point that you shouldn’t aim for something that is too big or unrealistic for yourself goes for losing the weight that you put on as well.
When you decide to lose weight, create a realistic plan for yourself where you do it in small manageable steps.
Determine how much weight you need to lose and then base your program on your age, your current weight, your build and your current overall health condition.
To be safe, these stats should be within the recommended weight range by your fitness trainer or your healthcare provider.
The key is to challenge yourself to lose weight little by little. Don’t aim for a big number and then expect to lose it all at once.
You could look forward to losing a pound or two extra during the first week as you will probably be losing a little bit of water weight along with belly fat.
After that, you can follow the recommendations of professional fitness trainers who advise shooting for one to two pounds per week, as this is a more sustainable figure.
Once you get your metabolism going, there may be weeks where you actually lose more than this.
4. Monitor Your Progress
Keeping a record of everything you do is one of the best ways to keep you motivated and accountable.
Start tracking what and how much you eat on a daily basis, what exercises you did during your workout, and how long your cardio session was.
Seeing how you are progressing on your journey to reaching your weight loss goal is priceless.
This will help you stick with your program and discover many other little things that you could change and do for the better.
Tracking your progress also ties in well with goal setting as well.
After several weeks of accomplishments, you can set a milestone achievement and treat yourself to something such as a day at the spa or some other type of non-food reward.
5. Make Healthy Substitutions
As mentioned in the first section of this article on making a list, set small goals when dealing with your dietary habits.
Setting the bar at an impossible level is setting yourself up for failure, so strive to make small changes in your daily eating habits that will go a long way in progress over time.
Instead of making a declaration that you will no longer eat anything sweet from this point forward, start out by eating less of those things or substituting foods that help you lose weight for the sugar-filled treats that you are used to.
And be aware that starving yourself is not going to work either; the key to losing weight is not deprivation but moderation.
Likewise, making healthier choices will also impact your goal of improving your overall health as well.
A great example of a healthy substitution is instead of having a bowl of ice cream with a fruit topping, why not have a small bowl of fruits with a small scoop of ice cream as your topping?
See how this works out?
And you can also aim to reduce the frequency of your sweets or rich creamy foods too.
Limiting your favorite foods to a couple of days per week instead of trying to give them for good at the start of your program is a great way to ensure your success.
6. Get Support
Everyone needs support when trying to lose weight because the temptation to conform to the norm is going to be everywhere.
So inform your loved ones and close friends of your decision to start eating healthier and working out on a regular basis in order to lose a few pounds that you gained over the holidays and improve your overall health.
And make sure that you flat out ask for their support.
Everyone could help you out in their own little way.
For instance, if you are a novice at working out and you have a friend who has experience and works out on a regular basis, you could ask them to go with you to the gym and show you a thing or two.
You could also ask your family if they can start preparing healthier recipes for dinner and other meals too.
The trick is to involve them as much as possible in your journey.
Now you have the tools you need to help you lose the weight that you gained over the Holiday Season and get ready for beach season.
Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to looking your best ever!
