5 keys to enjoy the holidays without gaining weight
Here are some tips to enjoy the Christmas and New Year's holidays without gaining too much weight.
Before the holidays arrive, we may be anxious about gaining weight. Sometimes it is because during the year we have made many efforts to keep in shape, or because we already have some extra kilos and we do not want them to accumulate more.
Because it is clear that we love parties and culinary specialties at the end of the year, and we want to be able to enjoy these social moments without it being a nightmare and also getting fat. So... What to do?
How to enjoy the holidays without getting fat
Here are 5 keys to help you make this time of year as enjoyable as possible without worrying about weight.
1. Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is increasingly practiced by people who want to take care of both their figure and their health.. In general it can be practiced at any time of the year, so during the holidays it is also recommended, since we know that we are going to eat more than usual and with excessive nutritional intake.
It is recommended to fast for a minimum of 12 hours a day.that is to say, to leave 12 hours between finishing dinner and having breakfast. Thus, we will have breakfast a little later and continue with the 3 meals a day without skipping any meal. This allows the digestive system to rest, to assimilate the excessive meals of the holidays.
2. Get moving
Taking advantage of the time of fasting to do moderate physical activity in the morning could be very effective. Walking in the bush, walking at a steady pace, riding a bike for a walk, or doing moderate physical activity at home (yoga, Muscle strengthening exercises) are examples of healthy routines.
If you have a pedometer or a connected device that can measure your steps, it is recommended to take about 12,000 steps a day.
Moderate physical activity is beneficial for your health, and it allows the body to burn some fat reserves or at least burn the extra calories consumed during these exceptional meals. Did you know that even after you have finished your physical activity your body can continue to expend energy for a few more hours?
3. A juice or a smoothie:
If you have never tried fasting before, one of the 3 meals can be substituted, one of the 3 meals can be replaced by a fruit and vegetable juice or smoothie..
A recipe to consider is the following: 1 apple, 1 beet, 2 medium carrots, ½ lemon, a little fresh parsley, 1 piece of ginger of 1 cm.
Put all ingredients in the blender and drink immediately to enjoy all the nutritional benefits. It is important to choose quality and organic ingredients to limit the influence of pesticides or lack of nutrients.
If you have a blender, you can make this juice recipe that will help your liver detoxify will help your liver to detoxify your bodyor other recipes to help assimilate fats better or help regulate the rate of glucose in the blood. Because there are no detox ingredients or detox juice, but ingredients that help the liver to do its cleansing work in your body.
Other recipes:
- Broccoli + Apple + Lime
- Broccoli + Orange + Mango
- Spinach + Lemon + Lime + Celery + Apple + Pineapple
4. Be mindful
If our goal is to to limit the negative effects of the excesses that we can get to do by eating to a greater extent during the end of the year holidays.it is important to know our body. Meditating and using some mindful eating techniques can be very beneficial to limit weight gain.
This will allow you to enjoy your food, to know when it is the best time to stop eating or to limit the amounts and, thus eliminate this feeling of guilt that we do not want to have after eating.
5. Meditate every morning for at least 15 minutes
When it is time to eat, meditation can help you:
- Breathe 3 times before starting to eat, and become aware of your real hunger level.
- Examine the plate: its colors, if you feel like it, if you like the smell...
6. Eat slowly
In the middle of the meal, ask yourself if you are still hungry. Also, chew your food well: all the previous work of mastication will help the body to digest and assimilate nutrients better, and therefore to limit the excesses of what is ingested in fat reserves.and therefore to limit the excesses, transforming the ingested food into fat reserves. Savor your food.
7. Dissociate:
Another possible alternative may be to try eating in a dissociated way to facilitate the digestive process. What is eating in a dissociated way? It consists of not mixing proteins and carbohydrates in the same meal. in the same meal. For example: eat a vegetable dish with legumes or vegetables with cereals, or a vegetable dish with meat or vegetables with fish or vegetables with eggs, but do not mix meat or fish with cereals, pasta or potatoes.
During the holidays, it is sometimes complicated to carry this out, but it can be tried in some meals. This may suit some people and not others: you have to try it to know if it can be done without problems.
With these tips, we hope you can have a happy holiday season!
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)