Now that the holidays have arrived, families reunite from far and wide, delicious meals are made and moods are high.
You don’t want to be monitoring the scale.
But in order to avoid waking up on New Year’s Day guilt-ridden and with a list of resolutions that is as long as your arm, The Diet Everyone is Talking About offers handy tips to ensure that you get the most out of a healthy holiday, without missing out on any of the fun.
You’ll also feel more confident in your swimwear without feeling like you’re starving yourself.
1. Plan and prepare:
To avoid over-eating at restaurants, piling too much food onto your plate or resorting to high-carb snacks, plan and prepare your meals.
Have healthy snacks and foods available so that you aren’t tempted to chew on the wrong thing.
Figure out what meal you want to cook in advance and have all of the ingredients ready so that you don’t end up substituting with too many carbs.
2. Go easy on the carbs:
Eating plans recommend moderating the amount of carbs that you eat.
Carbohydrates are sugars and starches – the energy foods we eat.
Cutting out carbs ensures that the body uses its energy from the fat of our body instead, boosting the metabolism.
Eating fats such as cream, biltong and eggs, on the other hand can actually help weight loss and improve health.
3. Moderation:
Stop eating when you’re full.
It’s easier said than done but if you try and consciously chew your food and enjoy it, you may find that you don’t need a second helping.
Also try and eat a light supper before 6pm so that your body isn’t going to sleep with a full stomach of food that isn’t being burned by activity.
4. Get into a holiday routine:
Whether you’re eating breakfast at 10am after waking up to the sound of the ocean or you’re fetching children from holiday school, get into an eating routine and eat breakfast, lunch and supper regularly.
That way you’ll be less likely to snack on the wrong things or skip meals so that you overeat at a later point.
5. Move and shake:
The holidays are a great opportunity to use the extra time to go for a run or play frisbee with your children.
Make the most of the summer days with your family by staying active and drinking lots of water.
You’ll also sleep like a baby for a full eight hours at night after daily activities – another great tip for weight loss.
6. Drink smart:
Everyone enjoys a summer cocktail or two or a nice, cold beer over the holidays but don’t binge drink.
Many alcoholic beverages are very high in carbs and can undermine all of your weight-loss efforts.
For more information about The Diet Everyone is Talking About visit www.the-diet.co.za
