How to shed that festive weight

January 15, 2016 · 0 Comments

After feasting for nearly two weeks, it can be hard to stop eating. When people come over for Christmas they tend to be laden with gifts and the odd food-based present. Inevitably, not all of the food items you brought or were given will be eaten come January first.
Yet with all of those Christmas goodies in the cupboard you’ll find it that much harder to stick to your new healthy eating regime. Rather than keep all of that calorific food, why not continue the Christmas cheer and pack up the food into a hamper or basket and give someone you know a treat. Or, give the hamper to a worthy cause. This will help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions.
Start by drinking more water. For the majority of us, Christmas is spent nibbling cookies, cakes and all sorts of other unhealthy food. Therefore, once the festive season ends our bodies are filled with harmful toxins. To flush out these substances and toxins, drink lots of water.
If you don’t like drinking water or struggle to guzzle lots, then here are some tricks to help you drink more. Firstly, you could invest in a drinking glass that you really like. Or you could attach elastic bands to your water bottle. Every time you drink a bottle’s worth of water you can remove one of the bands. If you dislike the taste of water, try adding some lemon slices to turn plain water into a refreshing, zingy drink.
Make plans to get out more. After Christmas most of us struggle to shed that festive weight because we are bored. January signals a time for cutting back and staying in, so that we can address our finances and save a little money. Yet after all the glitz and fun of December, staying in becomes hard and we often find ourselves bored. Consequently, most of us tend to indulge in a little comfort eating. This is terrible news for your resolution to shed that festive weight. To combat the boredom and post-Christmas blues you need to plan some fun, cheap activities. You could join Infinite Play’s boot camp, Zumba with Rena at the Center Dufferin Recreation Centre (CDRC) or maybe join Active Nordic Walk held by Barry and also at the CDRC.
Eat protein twice a day. Want to kick your sluggish metabolism into life to shed that festive weight? Well, you’ll be please to hear that protein is the solution to your metabolism issues. For breakfast eat around 10 to 15 grams of protein in order to get your metabolism into gear at the start of the day. An egg on toast or some low-fat yogurt with honey and nuts is a great breakfast if you want to shed that festive weight. After your busy day, half an hour before you go to sleep you should eat another protein heavy snack. This time you could choose a small protein shake or some cottage cheese with berries and honey. Eating protein before bed will help to increase your metabolism when you are asleep.
Light a scented candle. Over Christmas we consume a shocking amount of sugar. Therefore, when we start to try and shed our festive weight our blood sugar levels are unstable, which can cause us to crave sugary, unhealthy snacks. If you want to beat these cravings the trick is to light a vanilla candle. It is believed that the smell of vanilla can help to suppress sweet cravings. So this January, make sure you have a stock of vanilla scented candles in your cupboard and light one when you have an urge for something sweet.

By Michelle Janzen

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