Top Ten Tips for Losing Holiday Weight

8 January 2008

1) Ditch extreme diets and adopt a simple healthy eating plan that includes a good breakfast, lots of salads, fruit, vegetables and whole grains, and reduces animal fats, sugar and white flour products (cookies and pasta.) Stock up on breakfast foods you really like, keep meal replacement bars in the car to avoid high fat take out meals, and try healthy fruit shakes or smoothies.

2) Choose attainable goals for both weight loss and exercise. Resolving to look like a Hollywood wannabee is not realistic for most of us, but promising to eat sensibly and include daily physical activity in our lives is very possible.

3) Write a comprehensive plan, and then break it down into smaller goals with a shorter time frame to keep you motivated through the year. Then, even if you aren't able to reach your final goal, you will have many smaller, but still significant, achievements along the way. For example, if your goal is to complete a 10K race, your smaller goals could be running a 5K in less than 30 minutes, and adding upper and lower body strength training to increase your muscular endurance.

4) Give it time: most experts agree that it takes about 21 days to create a habit and six months for it to actually become a part of your daily life.

5) Set up milestones – and then reward yourself when you reach them. (One each quarter is a good idea.) Find fitness events in your area which suit your level – whether it is a beginner triathlon, or swimming or kayaking across a harbour. You’ll meet other motivated people and give yourself an extra boost to keep on target.

6) Don't go it alone! Use a personal trainer or get other professional assistance. Everyone needs help and sometimes a friend just isn't enough. Especially when it comes to fitness, research studies have shown that assistance from a fitness professional greatly improves people's success rate.

7) Keep a journal: A journal helps you recognize your positive steps and makes it harder to go back to the same old habits.

8) Take a leisurely walk at night. There is nothing worse for your digestion, metabolism, and heartburn then going to bed with a full stomach. Head out for a 15 to 30 minute leisurely walk. This really helps improve digestion and helps to burn a few calories before going to bed.

9) Utilize a fiber supplement. Most people on Western diets do not get anywhere near enough the recommended daily amounts of fiber (25 to 30 grams daily), so just about everyone could benefit from a fiber supplement. A soluble fiber such as psyllium (Metamucil or a much less expensive generic equivalent) really does wonderful things in your intestinal tract. In theory psyllium can absorb cholesterol and fat out of the intestinal tract. Also, medical research suggests that increased fiber in the diet lowers the risk of colon cancer. Mix one tablespoon of the powder in juice, water, or milk. Take it before the larges tmeal of the day and it will help fill you up.

10) Try not to eat anything within 2 to 3 hours before going to bed at night. Growth hormone is an important hormone that helps our bodies build muscle, break-down fat, and recover. The majority of growth hormone production occurs at night while we sleep. However, increased blood sugar decreases growth hormone release. After a large meal, your blood sugar transiently increases and can take up to three hours to return to normal. Therefore to maximize growth hormone release, try not to consume any food within 2 to 3 hours before sleep.

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