Ditch Your Christmas Fat!

Even though research has shown that the average American only gains 1.8 pounds over the festive period, they also found that the weight gained over Christmas was not lost during the year. So, even though the weight gain is not huge, putting on that much every year can have serious effects on your health and your self-esteem. To find out how you can shed the post-Christmas pounds for good, take at look at these top tips. 5 easy ways:

After feasting for nearly two weeks, it can be hard to stop eating; especially so if you have too many treats in the cupboard. When people come over for Christmas they tend to be laden with gifts and the odd food-based present. Inevitably, not all of the food items you brought or were given will be eaten come January the first.

Yet with all of those Christmas goodies in the cupboard you’ll find it that much harder to stick to your new healthy eating regime. Rather than keep all of that calorific food, why not continue the Christmas cheer and pack up the food into a hamper or basket and give someone you know a treat. Or, give the hamper to a worthy cause. This will help you stick to your New Year’s Resolutions.

For the majority of us, Christmas is spent nibbling cookies, cakes and all sorts of other unhealthy food. Therefore, once the festive season ends our bodies are filled with harmful toxins. To flush out these substances, drink lots of water.  You should aim to drink around three quarters to one full gallon of water in order to flush out these toxins.

If you don’t like drinking water or struggle to guzzle lots, then we have some tricks to help you drink more. Firstly, you could invest in a drinking glass that you really like. Or you could attach elastic bands to your water bottle. Every time you drink a bottle’s worth of water you can remove one of the bands. If you dislike the taste of water, try decaffeinated iced tea or add some squeezed lemon juice to turn plain water into a refreshing, zingy drink.

After Christmas most of us struggle to shed post-Christmas pounds because we are bored. January signals a time for cutting back and staying in, so that we can address our finances and save a little money. Yet after all the glitz and fun of December, staying in becomes hard and we often find ourselves bored and low. Consequently, most of us tend to indulge in a little comfort eating. This is terrible news for your resolution to shed that Christmas weight.

To combat the boredom and post-Christmas blues you need to plan some fun, cheap activities. You could volunteer at a youth center, enter a fun run event or arrange to meet up with friends and go on a long walk somewhere pretty.

Want to kick your sluggish post-Christmas metabolism into life to shed those post-Christmas pounds? Well, you’ll be please to hear that protein is the solution to your metabolism issues. For breakfast eat around 15 to 22 grams of protein in order to get your metabolism into gear at the start of the day. Two+ eggs on toast or some low-fat yogurt with honey and nuts is a great breakfast if you want to shed that Christmas weight.

After your busy day, half an hour before you go to sleep you should eat another protein heavy snack. This time you could choose a small protein shake or some cottage cheese with berries and honey. Eating protein before bed will help to increase your metabolism when you are asleep.

Over Christmas we consume a shocking amount of sugar. Therefore, when we come to shed post-Christmas weight our blood sugar levels are unstable, which can cause us to crave calorific, unhealthy snacks. If you want to beat these cravings the trick is to light a vanilla candle. A study at St George’s hospital in London found that vanilla-scented patches significantly reduced participants’ appetite for sweet foods and drinks.  It is believed that this is because the smell of vanilla can help to suppress sweet cravings. This January, make sure you have a stock of vanilla scented candles in your cupboard and light one when you have an urge for something sweet.

Drink lots of water!!!