The festive holiday season is on the way and very recently a 5 day festive season has said a good bye to all of us and because of that its very common to gain a little weight during the holiday season because not only high calorie foods and sweets were everywhere but you are still socializing more and are busy too in general which leaves you with a less time to plan and prepare healthy meals.
Few weeks from today and most of us will be busy in for merriment’s preparation and excess. Most people are likely to gain weight over the holiday season and then struggle to lose the same which makes January their busiest month.
We all know how hard we all like to party during Christmas without having to cry in to a boring regime coming January. In simple words, we do want to dance, eat and drink without worrying about gaining weight and perhaps even lose a bit.
With Halloween, half term holiday and bonfire night behind us, the loom of Christmas is worryingly near. With just less than few weeks to go for the festive party eve kicks off in the earnest, you will thank yourself for prioritizing your health now and make sure you are in your best possible shape so that you do not put on extra fat during Christmas and New Year.
While it may be tempting to put healthy eating in process and get back on track in the New Year, doing so suddenly can compromise your health and can also make it little difficult to reach your health goals.
But, let’s flip the tradition this year by losing some weight now and maintaining or regaining that over the Xmas break. Imagine how would you feel if you need not lose weight at the start of the New Year while your friends, family and colleagues are moaning that they need to hit the gym, go for a walk or play sports and follow a diet.
Simply make few adjustments in your eating habits and lifestyle and it will become very easy to maintain and in some cases also to lose weight before the holiday eve arrives.
Cut The Carbohydrates:
You must have been told to do this a lot of times. It is tough but it definitely works. A huge amount of calories are received from carbohydrates that it gets hard for busy people to eat healthy without pasta, bread, noodles, rice, potato and other similar food items. Swap them with eggs or protein shakes for breakfast, salads, soups, oats, fresh vegetables, fruits, pulses and get healthy carbohydrates instead of bread, pizza, burgers and pastas. Parties and holiday treats means extra calories during the festive season, so make sure, few weeks before the eve, you start consuming healthy meals and food items which are rich in protein. Never skip your meals though as it will deprive you from taking vital nutrients which are essential for your body. If you are working and go out for lunch then simply cut the calories and get your meal from home. Try to include plant compounds, healthy fats and protein in every meal. Evening is an ideal time for you to consider your meals more carefully. Cooking from scratch will help you prepare more balanced meal with good amount of protein. You can replace your breakfast with Herbalife Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix and Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder; a Nutrition Food Product from Herbalife Nutrition which is less in calories, high in nutrition and provides a balanced nutrition throughout the day. Consume it in low fat milk as a meal replacement and you can easily maintain your weight. If you wish to lose some weight before your festive eve, consume Formula 1 Shake twice a day and you are good to go.
Drink Water: Our body is 75% of Water and it is the most essential element which our body needs. Divide the amount of water as per the day and time and consume at least 250 ml or a glass of water every 30 to 45 minutes which will help you consume minimum of 4 to 5 liters of water per day. It will not only clean your body and the dirt inside but also help you in detoxification through zero calories and no artificial chemical. It is a perfect way to hydrate you self after a workout. Drink as much fresh water as you can because every glass of fresh water will help you to flush out the dirty water from your body. As per WHO, it is recommended to drink 1 liter of water per 20 kgs. body weight. So, if your weight is 60 kgs. then you need to drink minimum of 3 liters of water per day.
Quit Booze:
Recently a new trend of going dry in January came into existence but why not start it now? Stop all the booze and you will see and feel your weight going down and having a cut in your unhealthy calories intake. Do this for a couple of weeks before Christmas and then you can start your festive eve with a much deserved drink. Allow your body to adjust to less amount of alcohol which will make it easy for you to continue to limit your alcohol intake in the long run. Start doing it today and you will soon find yourself more energized and less tired. Taking social commitments into consideration before Christmas make sure to quit alcohol as well as smoking for at least 4 days a week. Alcohol serves as a toxin in your body and destroys your liver which is considered responsible for detoxification of toxins and also leads to premature deaths. If you quit alcohol, the liver will successfully be able to detoxify alcohol from your body and additionally it will remove other toxins such used up hormones, environmental toxins, medications and waste products naturally produced as a result of body’s natural processes. Restricting or quitting your alcohol intake will give your liver a chance to repair and rest. Opt for carbonated fizzy water with orange juice or lime cordial rather than high calorie sweeter soft drinks. You can also enjoy hydrating herbal or a green tea in warm water during cold weather for a warmer feeling inside and soothe your stomach and help the liver detoxify easily.
Exercise Daily:
Walking, Running, Jogging, Swimming, Cycling, Sports, Gym, Aerobics, Yoga, Zumba; do whatever you feel good and your body is comfortable with daily. The combination of burning more calories and raising the metabolism will help you break down your body fat and increasing your muscle mass, thus giving you a desired shape you want. Daily exercise is all about making and following a routine. Always remember that your body is like a child, the more you pamper it, the worst it becomes, the more you demand from your body, the healthier it gets. You don’t have to do anything big, just hour a day to your body and 23 hours of freedom. Have a look in your diary and work out a slot each day to include some exercise which can either be a gym or a yoga/Zumba/aerobics session or a more formal exercise. You can also wrap up warm and head out for a jog or run with your friends. You can also go for free exercises videos which are available on YouTube that can be done from the comfort of your house. If you commute, consider getting off your train or bus a stop or two earlier and walk. You can also consider taking a stair case rather than escalators and lifts. Go for a longer walk on weekends when you have more time.
Swap Your Coffee:
Cut down on your favorite espresso drinks which are popular during the festive season but contains as many calories as a meal. Opting for light or skinny version is also not recommended here because of the artificial sweeteners which can still negatively impact your health and your weight. Caffeine content in your tea and coffee makes you addicted towards it and destroys your health in the long run. You can opt for herbal or a green tea instead which will help you stay hydrated and provide additional health benefits in the form of antioxidants and even help you to reduce inches. You will be attracted towards the cleverly marketed warm drinks this season from chain coffee shops and with a chill air you will definitely find yourself indulging into one which should be completely avoided because it contains around 350 calories per drink. The unnecessary calories will sabotage your efforts to generate and establish a healthy routine and a healthy active lifestyle. The loaded refined sugar will work in destroying your teeth and gums and will make you crave for more sugar. You can also take Herbalife Nutrition’s Afresh Energy Drink Mix in warm or hot water for detoxification of your body and inch loss.
Avoid Desserts:
There are many people who have a habit of starting their day with something sweet and especially crave for some or other kind of dessert. If you also have such a habit, try to start going without one. More than anything else, it is a result of a daily habit so try if you can discontinue with such an unhealthy habit of having something sweet. Consume fruits or a small piece of dark chocolate instead of sweets and desserts. Once you cut down on sweets and desserts you will feel that you do not crave for it as you were earlier and it will make it easy for you to avoid lots of cookies and big pieces of cakes and other desserts in the festive parties. Getting out of the habit of eating desserts is one of the best ways to avoid desserts. Simply try to put your mind over the crucial decision making and say a big No to desserts. Once you lose the taste, it will get easy for you to avoid desserts and sweets in the long run.
Enhance Immune Health:
Lack of sleep because of busy work schedule, lack of nutrition in the food and holiday stress during the Christmas period can take a big toll on your immune health. Focus on antioxidant rich vegetables and fruits whenever possible and keep off the holiday stress and illness. Also try to include colors in your diet (not the artificial colors). Get an extra bowl of vegetable or a fruit salad rather than a bowl of cookies because your immune system relies on vitamins and minerals and ideally these things should come from your meals. Consuming foods which are high in antioxidants will help your body combat the free radicals produced as a result of stress and in turn will help your body fight germs. Essentially eating a balanced diet which includes high vegetables, fruits, healthy fats and whole grains will increase your nutrient level but opting for those with deep and rich colors will provide good antioxidants.
Boost Your Gut Bacteria:
The key to maintaining the health is healthy levels of beneficial gut bacteria, especially if you are eating sweet, heavy and rich foods during the festive season. Imbalance in the gut bacteria is directly linked to symptoms like headaches, fatigue and digestive issues. Bad gut bacteria is considered to feed on refined carbohydrates like white bread, white rice and white sugar, therefore cutting down on these foods can help balance the levels of bacteria. Also taking a high quality of probiotic can restore the levels of beneficial bacteria in the body. People these days are getting aware and understanding the influence of healthy gut bacteria and its importance and our general health and thus working towards ensuring adequate levels of good bacteria. Gut bacteria is all about the balance and the good bacteria will increase in the body only if they are provided with the Right Food which includes a lot of fibre. Ethically, a human body needs 25 grams of fibre per day. Eating fibre rich fruits, vegetables, oats, pulses and beans will starve the bacteria. Alongside these dietary changes, you can also consider re – inoculating the gut with a good probiotic supplement to boost the levels of good bacteria in the body. A healthy gut is directly related to the overall health and fitness of your body and therefore keeping it in a healthy condition is of vital importance and necessary as well.
Sleep:
Sleep is the first thing we cut off when we are busy but avoiding sleep not only makes you fell exhausted and burned out but also disrupts your hormones which further messes up your appetite and affect your weight. Sleep has an important and a significant role in encouraging the weight gain. A research shows that a lack of sleep plays havoc with the appetite regulating hormones. You must aim for at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night to balance your hormones because catching up on sleep is nothing more than a myth. You can set an alarm on your phone or an alarm clock which will remind you of your sleeping time and to turn off your electronic gadgets and set them to night shift. A good sleep allows your body to rest and repair efficiently which further boosts the resilience.
So Folks! These are some of the best ways you can try and start working on from now so that you can not only maintain but also lose some weight and stay fit and healthy after the festive season without worrying much about your health and also enjoy the coming New Year with a great health.
