Between the day job and planning for Christmas most of us will manage to find a bit of time in the next few weeks to stress about our weight and wonder if we can find any time or energy to squeeze in some pre-Christmas weight loss.
Well with only a few weeks to go it has to be now or never, and there certainly are a few things that you can do to help yourself fit into that little black dress or new Christmas shirt! The most important thing to remember is NOT to drastically cut your calorie intake as a quick fix. If you do this your body will go into starvation mode and hang on to your fat stores at all costs!
Instead, try the following tips to get in the best shape you can before Christmas.
- Fire up your metabolism. Having a high metabolism is the key to burning fat. 2 easy steps to firing up your metabolism. 1. Eat right. 2. Exercise right.
- Slim down your calorific intake. Your daily calorific requirement is personal to you, and to accurately manage your weight you should find out what this is. (See <a href=”http://www.drummondclinic.co.uk/service/rmr-assessment/”>Resting Metabolic Rate Assessment</a>.) Any calories you eat or drink over this daily rate will be laid down as fat, so in the long term you want to work towards reducing your calorie intake. However if you suddenly and drastically reduce your calorie intake then your body will go into starvation mode and cling on to any fat reserves. However most of us can afford to cut a few calories without triggering starvation mode. One of the best ways to achieve this is to select something you currently snack on that provides ‘empty calories’ – this means it has little or no nutritional value. Cut this snack out in the run up to Christmas – safe in the knowledge you can have it again in only a few short weeks if you really need it!
- Practice will power – try and show a bit of backbone and cut out the naughties until Christmas. How hard can it be? 3 weeks without crisps or chocolate?
- Take some alcohol free days. Not everyone drinks alcohol, but if you do it is such an easy way to guzzle calories. Try and cut down in the run up to Christmas. What about taking Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as alcohol free days? Also try to drink smart, a gin and slimline tonic (56kcals) as opposed to a large glass of red wine (214kcals). A bottle of bud (145 kcals) or Bud Lite (110kcals) as opposed to a pint of premium lager (330kcals).
- Eat breakfast every day. If you are still not eating breakfast despite all the publicity telling you to then you really have a problem. This is one of the easiest ways to weight loss and does not take any will power. Eating early in the day stops you eating rubbish later on and jump-starts your metabolism. Don’t argue, just do it.
- Do some activity every day. Walk to work, walk the dog, go swimming, join an exercise class or jogging club, lift a few weights. If you’re going to rely on activities such as shopping or household chores to burn calories remember to put some effort into them. If you’re already active then try to do something new or different, don’t just do another session at the gym on the treadmill. You need to mix it up and keep your body guessing.
- Drink water. You’ve probably read the latest research on water and the uncertainty over how much we should drink – don’t take this as an excuse not to drink any. Your body needs water and it probably needs more than you currently give it.
- Get plenty of sleep. There are links between sleep and weight. Researchers say that how much you sleep and quite possibility the quality of your sleep may silently orchestrate a symphony of hormonal activity tied to your appetite. There’ll be plenty of time for burning the candle at both ends, so for the next couple of weeks try to get as many zeds as you can.
You may think that all of this is to much to ask – pick one or two things that you think you could achieve and concentrate on mastering them for two or three weeks. You might surprise yourself. Even a few weeks can help and will mean that when you get back on track in the new year you can do it in the knowledge you already know you have achieved it before.
Keeping a food, drink and activity diary can be a really good way to keep an eye on what you’re doing and keeping yourself on track.
Remember that a portion of lean muscle is smaller in volume than the same weight of fat (Read more ») so even if the scales are not being kind to you your body shape can still be changing. Try not to be a slave to the scales.
Work hard now, it will make Christmas all the more enjoyable.