Achieving Holiday Weight Loss Success

Watching what you eat any time of year is difficult, but the holidays can test every ounce of strength in your body. Even if you are generally able to resist the urge to eat your favorite foods, when you are face to face with a whole table of them, it’s like being in a torture chamber that you can’t escape – and you can easily picture the demise that lies ahead. You envision yourself shoveling food in your mouth at breakneck speeds, as if the food were as necessary to your survival as the air you breathe. Unfortunately, this image is often followed by one of you sitting there with the buttons on your pants and shirt so stressed that they are only one thread away from popping off and releasing your excess fat into the room around you. Does this mean that you can’t keep your weight loss goals on track or, at a minimum, not gain when you are faced with such temptations? Absolutely not. You can still work toward a new thinner you and, surprisingly, it is fairly easy to do as long as you follow a few general guidelines. Create a Winning Environment If you spend the entire holiday season with cookies, cakes, and fudges on your kitchen counter, you aren’t doing yourself or your weight loss any favors as every day will be a struggle for you to make good choices. However, by creating an environment that promotes your success versus challenging it, you’ll find it much easier to stick to healthier eating. You have several options when it comes to the increased number of goodies that typically appear around the holidays. You could:Give excess treats away. Instead of letting them sit on your counter and call your name, let someone else enjoy them. Share them with your neighbors, co-workers, and friends. You’ll not only save yourself some calories, but you’ll also bring others some holiday cheer at the same time.
Freeze them. If the idea of sharing your goodies isn’t appealing, you can always freeze the extra portions. This allows you to keep all of them to yourself, and you can enjoy them all year long.
Put them away. At a minimum, you’re better off stashing things that you’d rather not eat a lot of out of sight. At least then you aren’t tempted every time you walk into the room.
Be Choosy One of the reasons that holiday eating is difficult is the amount of food buffets you encounter. Almost every get-together involves a few different main dishes and side dishes, not to mention all of the dessert options. This makes it very easy to overeat because you want to try a little bit of everything. One way to curb this issue is to scan the entire table before making your selections. That way you’re not in the middle of the food line with a full plate wondering if you should just stack it higher or grab a second one because there is still food you want to try at the end of the table. Knowing what you want beforehand will allow you to plan your plate in a way that allows for a taste of the things you want to try most. Think About Availability When deciding what to eat, think about how available the food is. For instance, if the holidays are the only time that grandma makes her famous apple pie, then you may feel like you’re cheating yourself by not eating it. However, if she makes apple pie for every function, it isn’t quite so detrimental if you don’t eat it right then. You can still keep on the weight loss or maintenance track when enjoying your once-a-year treat simply by watching your portion size. The SlimPlate Portion Control Diet Plan can help you decipher what amount to eat of your holiday favorites so that you can savor your food without worrying what you’re doing to your waistline or next weigh in. Be Realistic Walk into the holidays with high expectations and you’ll walk out of them frustrated and depressed. However, if you are completely realistic, you have a greater chance of sidelining these two emotions and keeping yourself on track. Consider what normally happens to your weight during the holidays and set your goals accordingly. For instance, if you typically gain 10 pounds during this time of year, maybe you want to alter your goal to only gain 5 pounds or simply to maintain. Trying to keep with your 1-2 pound a week weight loss may be setting yourself up for failure. You can enjoy the holidays and still move forward with your weight loss (or maintenance) goals. The more good choices you make, the closer you will be to success. You can do it!