Holiday Time is not a time to be on a diet.
Instead, I encourage you to enjoy yourself and move towards being healthy. Relaxing a restrictive diet isn’t a signal to go mad and eat anything and everything. Instead, just adopt a balanced approach to your eating and health.
I’ve found that many people compensate for the times they overeat by starving themselves the next day, or for a couple of days, until the next party or meal.
This may seem sensible in as much as it evens out the amount of food consumed. However, what it really does is slow down your metabolism.
Metabolism and Weight Loss
When your metabolism slows down, it means that the next time you eat, your body isn’t able to burn up food as efficiently and is more likely to store it as eat. So you’re achieving the opposite result to the one you were looking for. Your body ends up on a roller coaster of extra eating and then starvation.
Unfortunately, when your metabolism slows down like this, you will find it much harder to lose weight afterwards. Also, if you’ve starved yourself for a while, you’re much more likely to overeat when you’re next faced with food. Food then becomes such a high priority that it’s harder to eat sensibly.
Oy, the GUILT
There’s also the guilt aspect. If you’ve eaten extra food one day, you may well feel guilty. So if you starve yourself you can dismiss the guilt more easily by punishing yourself. Instead of embarking on this guilt / starvation cycle, start loving yourself.
Weight loss is easier when you approach it from the perspective of loving yourself and taking care of your body. In short, if you do find yourself eating extra food, instead of starving yourself afterwards, just return to sensible healthy eating, without cutting back.
Tips to Help You Maintain Without Starving Yourself
There are many ways that you can limit your weight gain at this time of year without restricting or starving yourself.
- Drink plenty of water to keep your body working efficiently
- the feelings of thirst
and hunger are often confused. - Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. Increase your exercise level, perhaps go for a few more walks.
- Generally be more active during the day; try walking up the stairs, or dancing.
All this activity will leave you feeling good about yourself and keep you on the road to a healthy lifestyle.
Healthy Lifestyle Articles
About the Author
Wendy
Hearn, Weight Loss Success Coach
Author of "What's Eating You? - The Top 10 Things That Stop
YOU From Losing Weight" http://www.PositiveWeightLoss.com
©2001 Wendy Hearn. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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