Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
I gained 5 pounds last year but also worked out and gained muscle. However I am worried the same might happen this year so here are some more tips of avoiding the holiday weight gain:
- Tackle the buffet table with a plan. “Always survey the buffet table first and then get in line with your plate and choose the things you really want, including healthy choices,” Gans says.
- Position yourself away from the hors d’oeuvres. “Stand away from the hors d’oeuvres,” Gans advises. “If you’re near them, you’ll eat one. If you stand away from them, hopefully you won’t.”
- Have a snack before you go to a party. “Most people, knowing they’re going somewhere, will not eat during the day, saving up their calories,” she says. “That’s a nightmare waiting to happen because you’ll end up eating too much because you’re so hungry.”
- Bring a healthy dish with you. If you’re going to someone’s home for a potluck or buffet, bring a low-fat, low-calorie offering. “Be the one who says, ‘I’ll bring a vegetable,’ or ‘I’ll bring a salad,’ ” Gans says.
- Engage in the leftover battle. If you’re at someone else’s house, don’t leave with leftovers. If you’re throwing the dinner party, send everyone home with leftovers.
- Talk at parties, rather than eat. Gans encourages party-goers to “use the time to catch up with friends and family, not just to eat food.”
- Keep up your normal exercise routine. You’ll be able to relieve holiday stress, burn excess calories, and avoid weight gain.
Above tips from EverdayHealth.com.
Here are some of my tips.
- Holidays are about eating holiday food. Avoid the generic boxed chocolates (Turtles, After Eights, Pot Of Gold) so that you can have a Christmas cookie or dessert.
- Enjoy a few hors d’heurves (shrimp, veggies and a great dip) instead of chips.
- Ditch the juices, pops, cider, eggnog and have water. This will cut the liquid calories and keep you hydrated and digestion flowing. Also helps with bloat. Try to avoid alcohol too. If you do have a drink, try to imbibe only once.
- Try to stay healthy at breakfast. Enjoy a full-on bacon, eggs, hashbrown brunch at least once, and fully enjoy it without guilt. However, don’t eat like that every morning. Bacon, sausage, buttered toast, dessert-style pastries, juices etc. all add up on calories and make you groggy the rest of the day!
- Get some exercise. It doesn’t have to be a full-on hour. Take a walk..it may be snowing but usually when it snows it’s warmer (warmer when the sky isn’t clear). Do 5 min of yoga or stretching. Play with the kids. Do something!
Spot Reducing Abdominal Fat
From EverydayHealth.com:
Q: How should someone like me — with abdominal obesity (which goes along with metabolic syndrome) — adjust my weight-loss program to promote fat loss around the middle, as well as general weight loss? Should I exercise more, or eat even fewer calories (and fat calories) than someone who’s just generally trying to lose weight?
A: That’s a good question, because many people are in the same situation as you. First, if you smoke, you should stop because smoking promotes abdominal obesity. In terms of whittling your waist, fat loss around the middle will be more pronounced if you exercise along with decreasing caloric intake, both total and fat calories.As you probably know, abdominal fat is the most important to lose because it is the most strongly related to diabetes and heart disease. So diet and exercise are very important both for general weight loss and for abdominal fat loss. How much exercise? A lot — but that doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon or become a bodybuilder. Recent studies have shown that people who are the most successful at losing weight and keeping it off exercise at least one hour a day at an intensity equivalent to brisk walking.
Genetics plays a role as well — those who are predisposed to gain and lose weight in certain places will continue to do so no matter what kind of diet and exercise program they are on, but again, the first place the weight usually comes off is in the abdominal area. Remember, the road to a healthy weight begins with that first step, so my best advice is to watch what you eat and get out there and start walking!
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Abdominal fat increases the chances of metabolic diseases
Abdominal fat increases the chances of metabolic diseases like diabetes. Read this article here! It is important to maintain a healthy weight, but more important to maintain a healthy weight if you carry an extra tire around your middle!
Navigate The Holidays! Pan Jus Gravy
One thing I LOVE about family dinner is mashed potatoes and gravy…gravy on everything. I love it! However, it’s not the healthiest. Which is why I reserve it as a treat for the holidays (every holiday, I’m not a saint) and for sometimes Sunday night roasts.
South Beach came up with the following Pan Juice “Gravy” that uses no cornstarch or flour. I’m terrible at making gravy so I might as well stick with a recipe that doesn’t require thickening!
This “jus”-style gravy, made without flour or cornstarch, is thickened naturally by reducing and concentrating the turkey juices. After the bird is carved and placed on a serving platter, add the juices from the cutting board to the gravy for extra richness.
Makes 8 (1/4-cup) servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
Instructions
After turkey has roasted, pour juices from the pan into a glass measuring cup or a fat separator; set aside. Place the roasting pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add wine to the pan and, using a wooden spoon, scrape any browned bits of turkey from the bottom of the pan. Add broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, skim off any fat that has accumulated on top of the reserved pan juices (you should have about 2 cups of juices). Add juices to the roasting pan along with any additional juices that have accumulated on the carving board. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Serve warm.
Nutritional information
Per (1/4-cup) serving:
25 calories
1 g fat (0 g sat)
1 g carbohydrate
1 g protein
0 g fiber
105 mg sodium
Navigate The Holidays!
It’s soon that time of year where we/I indulge, am a little more lazy, and drink a little too much. So to continue the Navigate The Holidays from last year, I will bring you tips on how to be healthy yet enjoy the holidays!
I Want My Sexy Back! 
