Don't Fall Into The Holiday Weight Gain Trap
It's the time of the year people fall back into their old habits and let their health and fitness go. But just because you’re not going to the beach anytime soon, that doesn’t mean you need you should let all your hard work go to waste and start being unhealthy. Instead let’s make this cold-weather transition smooth, comfortable, and painless.
We don’t want to you get sucked into thinking being healthy is just for summer seasons when there’s a chance you’re going to flock to the beach in your bathing suit. We’re in this for the long term which means, doing small but manageable things that don’t drain you of your energy and test your willpower every minute of every day.
No 2 hour long workouts, weighing every last bit of your food like a science project, or harmful medical procedures.
We want to help you live a long healthy and enjoyable life, and those three things above don’t sound pleasant to me.
The further you get off track, the harder it’s going to be to get back on, but when you’re already in the swing of things, it feels good to keep going.
That’s the power of momentum.
When special occasions and holidays come up, you feel better being able to taste and enjoy some of these foods without feeling guilty or overwhelmed. Because we all know there are that ONE (or two) family specialties that are too hard to pass up during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The best thing to do is to keep your momentum going in the right direction is drink lot’s of water, exercise regularly, eat unprocessed foods and if you’re ever confused what to eat, opt for protein and veggies.
Have you ever heard of ‘food cues?’
They’re essential for health and fitness conscious people like you and me.
Food cues are signs which influence the choices we make and how we feel and have a negative or positive impact on our emotions and eating habits.
These signs can be from sounds, sight, smells, touch or taste, i.e. our five human senses.
Cotton candy at baseball games…a bowl of ice cream when you watch Game of Thrones…or chocolate covered raisins at your sister’s house. Those are all food cues.
A lot of the time we aren’t even aware of these triggers but next thing you know you’re craving something and have no idea why. That’s why it’s important to be mindful of food cues, especially the ones that automatically tell you when you’ve had enough to eat.
It’s one of the easiest ways lose weight.
As a society, we’ve become so accustomed to ‘more is better.’
Don’t leave food on your plate… Don't turn down food when you’re in someone's house because it’s disrespectful… You’re growing, and you need to keep eating.
Somewhere along the line, we forgot how to eat until we’re satisfied, NOT full and NOT stuffed.
Here are four food cue tricks to help you lose weight:
Use a new plate if you go up for seconds
Use a different glass for each new beverage
Leave your dirty dishes in sight with scraps and wrappers
Finish all the food on your plate (and glass) before going for seconds
If you master these food cues and eat until you’re satisfied instead of eating until you’re full, you’re going to be amazed how much easier it is to lose weight and more importantly, keep that weight off.
Spare Time and Extra Pounds with Simple Meal Prep
I don’t know about you, but when people use that term, the first thought that pops up into my mind is a counter full of 40 Tupperware and a day’s worth of cooking, but that’s the last thing I want you to do.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be doing something fun like hanging out with my family and friends instead of spending my entire Sunday cooking meals and rationing them into separate containers.
Here are three ways to prep for the week and the holiday season to stay healthy and fit
#1: Have A Plan
Relax, not Tupperware filled bags.
Your plan can include having a plan for what you’re going to eat.
If you’re traveling... are you going to bring healthy snacks, eat before you go, have a healthy place you can go to when you land or do you need to bring food?
If you don’t have a concrete plan for how you’re going to handle the situation you’re going to find it’s incredibly easy to get pulled into the fast food joints at the airport or when on the road.
#2: Think Bigger
The more complicated the meal you’re trying to cool is, the longer it’s going to take, so I recommend finding meals that are healthy but easy.
On of the most common dieting struggles and excuse for not eating healthy is “I don’t have time to cook” so if this is you don’t try and cook elaborate meals.
What I like to do is use a dry rub to season my food and then cook my protein of choice in bulk (beef, chicken, turkey, fish, etc.) and put it all in one big Tupperware.
… At the same time, I bulk cook veggies and do the same.
Then when I want to make a meal, all I have to do is mix and match a protein (I have a few choices) with a vegetable, and use some seasoning for a well-rounded meal.
If it’s around my workout, I will throw in a carbohydrate source that a bulk cook in smaller portions.
#3: Think Faster
What can you do to make the food prep process even more quickly than it is right now?
New tools, tricks, and gadgets: Crockpot, rice cooker, non-stick skillet, George Foreman grill, pressure cooker, microwave. Etc.
Anything that will allow you to cook more food at the same time or give you the ability to do other things at the same time.
For example, you can throw a bunch of food into the crock pot and turn it on when you leave from work. Then when you get home, you have delicious meals waiting for you.
Wrapping It up
Since this article was all about making your health and fitness easy and fast for you, the last thing I want to do is take up more of your time.
Be sure to keep those four food cues in mind
Use a new plate if you go up for seconds
Use a different glass for each new beverage
Leave your dirty dishes in sight with scraps and wrappers
Finish all the food on your plate (and glass) before going for seconds
Other than that, remember to plan your meals and food options, think of different ways you can make your eating easier to maintain, and use tools and gadgets to your advantage to make this lifestyle a fun and easy one.
If you have any questions, hop over to our Compel Fit Club and let us know --> Click Here <--