Listen to “How to Survive the Winter Holidays Without Gaining Weight”.
Many of us experience weight gain during the festive winter months, but packing on a few pounds in December is far from inevitable.
Winter is filled with opportunities to pile on a few pounds. There are so many parties and office gatherings where we share festive moments with family, friends, colleagues, and they always involve lots and lots of food and drink. However, when the holiday season is finally over, the bathroom scales reveal the true weight of all of that festive cheer.
Even though it’s hard to resist the temptations around us over the holiday season, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep the weight off.
Deprivation is no fun when you’re on vacation, so it’s all about learning to indulge in moderation. Therefore, it’s better to try and keep your current weight, as opposed to focusing on losing it.
1. Ditch the Added Sugar
Festive cookies, cakes, and pies are all very tempting, but all that added sugar does nothing but harm. Try to stick to sugar that comes in its natural forms such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. When it comes to those really sweet desserts, it’s better to eat them in moderation rather than loading up on platefuls of cookies.
2. Alcohol
Not only does alcohol add unnecessary calories to your diet, but getting boozy has another effect on us, too. Drinking too much champagne, eggnog, wine, and beer can make us lose our inhibitions around food and start eating irresponsibly.
3. Positive Self-control
Many of us demonize certain foods and even punish ourselves for our indulgences. However, positive messages like “I can control my eating” or “I’m proud that I ate responsibly today” can reframe our relationship with food. Research shows that positive expectations are associated with weight loss.
4. Limit to one-a-day
While you can’t control every situation, you can control how much food goes into your mouth. If you are constantly bombarded with holiday parties and displays of desserts or candies, you can still effectively help prevent yourself from overeating and gaining weight. One way to do this is the one-a-day method.
Allow yourself one small serving of a cookie or piece of candy each day during the holiday season.
The holidays are meant to celebrate good times with family and friends. Enjoy the holidays and plan effective strategies to help you maintain your weight. Achieving your goals will give you more reasons for holiday cheer! Happy Holidays!
