Here is the best weight loss method for holiday overeating...Everyone sort of goes off-diet during a holiday weekend, especially the 3-4 day long weekend type of holidays that pop-up too infrequently on the calendar.
Even when you are not on a "diet" diet, but just trying to eat sensibly, holidays are a huge invitation to allow a lot of off-menu foods onto your menu.
Do you know the #1 strategy used by most people to compensate for over-eating during the holidays?
-- Not eating breakfast, or skipping other meals in preparation for the holiday. Most people usually skip 2-3 meals during the holidays, or cut back on the appetizers. The idea is to "save" some calories now to make up for the extra ones you know you will be eating later.
-- Does it work? Nope. It just sets you up for binge eating later in the day, which adds a lot more calories to your body than the ones you "saved."
Want to know the #2 thing people do to handle the extra calories of the holidays?
-- Promising themselves they will skip some meals AFTER the holidays to make up for it.
--Does it work? Actually, these promises are almost always broken before they get started.
And the #3 thing people use to handle holiday culinary excesses:
-- Just eat whatever, and worry about it later.
-- Does it work? Can't really call this one a strategy, but a lot of people prefer it.
The only proven strategy to handle weight loss for holiday over-eating?
If you don't put it on you won't have to take it off.
OK, I know that was not what you were wanting or expecting. But, you know it is true.
Desiring, even planning to overeat, or eating the wrong foods during the holidays, is a great old cherished tradition. It is also one where a weekend can set back your weight loss goals for a month or more.
Let's say you were losing a healthy 2 pounds a week. If you are like most people, you'll gain 3-7 pounds over a 3-day weekend holiday.
Thus, you didn't get your 2 pounds of loss for the week, PLUS, you added 6 pounds. So, the total change in your weight is 2+6 = 8. You just set your weight loss back 8 pounds -- a month. Is 3 days of eating wrong really worth losing an entire month's worth of renewed weight loss efforts?
If you indulge in any form of the #1, #2, or #3 strategies for weight loss Or have your own special form of suspending sensibilities during a long holiday weekend, then you might want to consider a different approach...
Would you seriously consider changing your relationship to food?
Is overeating really a requirement to enjoy a great weekend?
Is eating the wrong foods worth the extra pain and renewed efforts it requires for true weight loss?
While holidays involve having fun with family and friends and having lots of new, luscious foods available, do you have to think in terms of "denial" when you see the vast buffet? Just because all that yummy food is calling out to you by name, and saying, "eat me, eat me, have an extra helping of me," doesn't mean you have to actually do it.
It is really possible to ignore all the loud voices clamoring for you to consume what you know you shouldn't.
Isn't it possible to take a small portion of each food you "really" want to try, and savor them in small quantities?
Isn't it possible think of the buffet spread as a chance to taste new and favorite foods, instead of an invitation to overeat?
You will feel great, and in control of your life, if at the end of the holiday weekend, you know you didn't gain anything. Or better yet, you lose 2 pounds. If you've never experienced that sense of weight loss victory, you're really missing something special. You will achieve a sense of personal satisfaction that can really rev up your weight loss motivation for weeks on end.
That result is the best win-win: Weight loss now, plus renewed weight loss motivation for the future. It is a real confidence builder. You really ought to try it.
Remember, the only proven strategy to handle weight loss for holiday over-eating?
If you don't put it on you won't have to take it off.
VP Programs Development, ScaleDown for Life
VP Education, GoZonkers Inc.
Founder, CelebrateLifeNutrition.com
Curb Your Appetite – Stop Your Cravings
©2009 Laura Gontchar. All Rights Reserved.
