May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is a wonderful season, if not for all the mirth and hope that it brings to us, but for the great, calorie-rich foods and drinks that we get to eat at Holiday parties!
Who really cares what happens after that? We just need to satiate our junk food cravings NOW, and pay the price of our indulgence later!
And what would be the price of indulgence? A fat tummy, two flabby arms, those awful-looking love handles, and of course, thunder thighs!
Now, if you are happy with holiday weight gain, then read no further. This article is only for those who don’t think twice while eating all the junk foods they could lay their hands on, and later scream when their old clothes no longer fit in or the scale shows an increase of 10-15 pounds. All these means that the person has gained a lot of weight and now is the time to start a weight loss plan, which, hopefully, would have a happy ending!
Now, you have got two no so easy choices. Either be happy and contented with your new look and shape (after all, your body’s chemistry didn’t change at all; all that happened is that you got a bit bulkier in shape) and buy new, huge clothes that would fit nicely into your new body; or start losing weight.
There is really no reason to be stressed out and sad about weight gain because you are not the only one who has gained weight this Christmas! You will notice that many of your peers have the same potbellies as you; so take heart in that!
Now, there are some easy ways to lose weight without taking the help of fad diets or diet pills. Let’s say that you have spent a lot of money this Christmas. If you are like me, you would end up with a huge credit card debt as soon as the festive season is over!
Naturally, you will have to cut corners in order to repay your debt. This means that you would be eating less food than before (which is what ‘dieting’ is all about), won’t be able to afford the expensive cakes, chocolates and burgers.
Now, if you are more fortunate than me, you won’t have a huge credit card bill to pay off. In that case, of course you will have to go down the route of diet and exercise to ensure that you shed all the extra flab!
I am not going to worry about Easter chocolates since usually I don’t have enough money to spend on them (thanks to the big money I spent during Christmas); so there is no more reason for me to put on any extra weight during Easter!
I wish you the best in your weight loss goals!
Christmas is the season of joy, but you maybe surprised to find out that some people are really not very happy in this season.
It has nothing to do with being short on money, or not having many friends, it has to do with gaining the “normal” holiday weight.
With all those delicious foods and drinks flowing all around and the uncountable number party invitations we receive during this time, who except an ascetic could resist the temptation of giving in to their food cravings?
We may regulate our calorie intake throughout the rest of the year, we may stay on boring diets all our life, but sometimes, we do need to give in to our food cravings, and Christmas gives us the perfect excuse to indulge ourselves a bit! But unfortunately, more often than not we overdo it and end up gaining in inches and pounds! We surely love the taste of the delicacies served to us at Christmas parties but we definitely don’t like our newly acquired “15 pounds of holiday weight”.
Add to that the fact that people usually prefer to rest on their warm couches and watch the latest television shows during this season, instead of bothering to visit the gym and do some weight lifting, or at least do some home exercises! Weight gain is the natural result of over-eating and ‘under-activity’! So what is the way out?
I have mentioned it numerous times and I will mention it here again: moderation is the key to success in weight loss. If you eat your favorite foods moderately throughout the rest of the year , you won’t feel any need to overindulge yourself during this season. On the other hand, if you keep yourself deprived throughout the rest of the year in the hope that you will get to eat all of your favorite foods in huge quantities during Christmas, then you will be sorry!
And don’t think you would be able to lose all those extra pounds as quickly as you gained them! Do you plan to fast for two weeks straight and expect to shed all the pounds? Then you are in for a shock! Fasting would lower your metabolic rate and that would stop the fat burning process. As soon as you break your fast, you will gain back whatever weight you had ‘lost’!
And don’t think you could shed all those newly acquired pounds by doing cardios for hours on end! If you have never exercised before, then sudden intense activities could injure your muscles!
So what do you do? Like I said, exercise moderation and you will be fine. During Christmas, reduce your daily calorie intake by no more than 500 calories and exercise for no more than an hour per day. Such moderate changes in your lifestyle won’t harm your health in any way and at the same time, would help you stay fit even if you eat a few high-calorie foods at parties!
Don’t forget to drink at least a glass of water before you hit the party! Water will suppress your hunger to a certain extent! Thus you would be able to feel full even by eating moderately! Increasing your daily water intake by a few glasses is any day better than drinking gallons of water in the hope of quick weight loss!
Follow these tips and you won’t have to live in fear of Christmas. Remember that Christmas is a symbol of joy and merriment; don’t let ‘weight issues’ ruin that joy which comes to us only once in a year!
Before some people start on diets that often meet with a dietitian to help plan their meals.
But what is the dietitian’s role in planning your diet?
The role of the dietitian is to recommend foods that will be beneficial to clients who want to lose weight, want to reduce the affects of a medical condition, or who want to learn how to eat the right foods.
Dietitians will start by ordering tests that will measure different nutrient levels in your body, find out which foods you like and which foods you prefer not to eat. Then they will recommend foods based on your food preferences that will help maintain, raise, or lower these levels.
You will learn how to prepare meals, how to eat at a restaurant, and even when to eat during the day. A dietitian can offer expert advice when it comes to eating food that is good for you.
Many health insurances and some colleges will offer the services of a dietitian at no cost to you - so it’s best to check around.
Christmas is on it’s way. This means it’s time to start getting serious about your weight loss if you want to lose some of that fat before the holiday photos are taken.
Yeah, people want to lose weight before Christmas so that they look stunning and sexy when the party season begins! However is it really possible to lose all your weight before the onset of Christmas? Well, if you work hard and start early then of course it is possible to get rid of fat before December 25th.
It is well known that in order to lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than what you burn. Most people however, take this conception it to an extreme point and believe that if they don’t consume any calories at all, they would be able to lose weight pretty fast! So they begin starving.
This is totally wrong! If you starve, not only will your health deteriorate, but your metabolic rate will also become much lower. When your body realizes that you are not providing it with enough calories, it will hold on to the fat instead of burning it, so that it can use this fat for producing energy in future.
Do you still think that you could lose weight faster by starving?
Remember that when it comes to weight loss, there are certain rules and guidelines you need to keep in mind:
1. You cannot lose more than 1-2 pounds of fat per week; if you try to lose more, you will lose muscles instead of fat!
2. Secondly, you shouldn’t attempt to reduce your daily calorie intake by more than 500 calories. For most people this means that you should take in at least 1,200 calories per day.
3. The third thing to keep in mind is that if you want to lose weight fast, you cannot expect to achieve your goal by dieting alone. You need to add some exercises to your daily routine so as to accelerate the weight loss process. In my opinion, cardio and strength training are best exercises for quick weight loss!
4. The fourth rule of weight loss is that spot reduction of fat is impossible, no matter what others tell you. You may think that you will lose your love handles by doing sit-ups and abdominal crunches constantly; however, you might be surprised to notice that you are losing fat somewhere else instead of your targeted area! When it comes to weight loss, it is your BODY which will decide where to start burning fat first!
5. The fifth rule of weight loss is that calorie counting is unnecessary. Many people think that this is the surefire way to keep their calorie intake in check, and it might be true, but isn’t it too tedious and boring? I will tell you of an easier way to keep your calorie intake in check. If you get rid of fast foods such as biscuits, cakes, soft drinks, soda and other junk foods, and eat fruits and vegetables instead, you will obviously be consuming fewer calories than usual and hence, you won’t need to keep track of your calorie consumption!
6. The last rule of weight loss is that you must drink plenty of water every day, for it is water which will keep your metabolic rate high and help you burn fat fast. An adult should drink at least eight glasses of water per day, if not more!
If you follow these six rules of weight loss then I can guarantee that you would be able to lose some weight even before you could hear the jingling of the Christmas bells!
Fact: There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat.
Thus, if you cut back or work off just 3,500 calories, you will lose an entire pound of fat. While it is possible to cut back on your calorie intake and increase your exercise regimen in order to lose pounds quickly, it is important to note that doctors recommend that you lose no more than 2 pounds of weight per week in order to ensure that your body properly adjusts to the weight loss.
Losing weight slowly will also help you avoid saggy skin which often occurs with quick weight loss.
Here are some tips to help you safely drop 3,500 from your regular routine:
Running fitness program
Running for about 1 hour at a slow pace will help you lose approximately 350 calories, depending on your body type, speed and terrain. Thus, if you run for one hour five days a week while maintaining a consistent diet, you will safely lose one pound.
It is important to understand that many people who just begin running will eat pasta and other foods high in carbohydrates in order to compensate for the exertion. They think that because they worked out so hard, they deserve a treat. After all, they justify, the pasta will help to keep their energy levels high.
However, what they may not realize is that while they are justified in thinking that the carbohydrates will infuse their workout routine with energy, they are not actually setting their bodies up to lose weight.
When you burn 350 calories but intake 450 over a high-carbohydrate pasta dish, you are adding more calories to your body than you otherwise would have.
Running does, however, help to boost our metabolism and change your muscle tone so that you burn calories more efficiently. Instead of inhaling a pasta dish after a run, select instead to have a large salad and splurge for the carbohydrate-rich croutons.
Eat In and avoid fast food restaurants
When you eat out at a restaurant, not only are you subjecting your body to an array of high fat, high calorie foods, but you are also tempting yourself to eat a larger portion than you might normally eat.
Therefore, what could be a simple 500 calories meal can easily turn into a 1500-calorie fat fest. In order to lose weight by cutting calories, it is essential that you are aware of exactly what you are putting into your body. Especially in the beginning of your new routine, it is important that you prepare your meals and monitor your level of hunger.
When eating out, generally you are in a social situation where food is not a priority – but spending time with your friends is.
For this reason, people tend to eat more than they normally would. Non-dessert eaters often even spring for the extra round of calories. If you must eat out, help yourself avoid temptation by selecting a salad rather than a plate of pasta or burger. You will be amazed at the difference in the amount of calories you intake when you make simple choices such as meal option.
By reducing your overall calorie intake and increasing your level of physical activity, you will be able to lose those 3,500 calories without much trouble. Make sure that you stay focused, motivated and on task. You’ll shed unwanted weight in no time!
Since you know that one pound of fat equals 3500 calories, many will then take the amount of weight that they want to lose and times it by 3500 to get the total calories that they will need to either burn up or eat less.
This may sound like a good idea but seeing that large number may scare you off and feel defeated before you start. Instead go day by day and do the best that you can each day.
Each day that you do well will bring you closer to your goals.
