Weight Loss Tip #8: Have Your Cake and Burn it Off Too - With Christmas less than a week away, the holiday season is almost over, but the holiday EATING for most people will last for nearly another month.
I could try and tell you how to not eat anything but lettuce and fruit while the rest of the family is enjoying succulent hams, delicious cakes, and scrumptious pies; but that would be a waste of time, wouldn't it?
Besides, if you've been "good" all year with your eating habits (haven't you?), why shouldn't you get to enjoy some of that wonderful holiday food?
But what about your weight?
Your waistline?
I can show you how to manage that. The trick is to not get so carried away with all that food that all your weight loss and fitness efforts go down the tube.
How is that done?
It's pretty simple, actually. Just like any successful undertaking in life, it all comes down to a few rules that are geared toward helping you reach your goal. Keeping yourself together after sampling a veritable feast is no different.
In this case, there are just a few things you need to keep in mind and follow:
1) Don't munch yourself into a coma day after day. Choose 3 or 4 designated days through the REST of the season to "do your thing" at the table, and practice restraint on the rest.
2) On your big eating days, plan a morning cardio workout that is about an hour long. Why an hour? Sixty minutes of cardiovascular activity at the start of your day will keep your metabolism elevated well into the afternoon. It doesn't matter what you do---the gym, walking around the block, jogging with the dog---whatever. Just plan to do an hour of SOMETHING on each of those mornings.
3) Don't eat anything before your workouts. Just jump right into them with a bottle of water and don't allow yourself to be too interrupted until you are done. This will help you to get the most out of shedding some of the fat that is already stored on your body to give you a "head start" on the day's festivities.
4) This one is optional, but can make a difference if you stick to it. If you know that you just aren't going to be able to resist all those wonderful cakes and pies, try eating them with your entree's and pass on all or most of the starchy sides.
Remember, the goal here is not so much to lose weight, but to BREAK EVEN.
All you want to do is SURVIVE so that you don't blow up like a house and derail all of the work that you may have done up unto this point.
