Almost anywhere in the world (including North America), there are abundant feasts especially during the holiday season. It's a time of laughter, exchanging stories and of course good food (usually the unhealthy ones).
Studies show that people has a tendency to overeat (and gain weight) during the holiday period. The gain in weight is averaging at 4.5 lbs (2 kilos) and if you're trying to lose weight, then that can be a concern.
But don't lose hope, because all is not lost. There's something that you can do and here they are:
The 10 Tips to Getting Back To your Weight Loss Journey after Overeating
Let's start with the first tip…
1. Exercise and Get Moving
If your exercise is pressing the remote control's channel and volume buttons, then you obviously need more exercise than that. Try different home-friendly workouts. You can also try the latest free fitness apps that you can download to your smartphones. If you need personal training, you can go to a gym but be prepared to exercise your wallet as well.
2. Stop feeling guilty about overeating
The worst thing that can hold you back when you've stumbled (I have stumbled a lot of times in my weight loss journey) is to drown in guilt. Nothing will come out of it, so you have to snap yourself out of self-guilt and negative emotions. Pick up yourself, and move on. What's most important is that you won't allow yourself to be stagnant and have self-pity because you've overeaten during the holiday season.
3. Remove the temptations
If you're thinking of leaving the ice cream cake on your fridge after your thanksgiving dessert, I bet that 99% of the time, you'll end up eating it. If you don't want to eat it, then why are you keeping the leftovers in the first place? Make it easier on yourself by throwing out the leftovers as soon as possible.
4. Clean out the Fridge and Restock with healthy options
Are you the host of the thanksgiving party? If you were, most likely there will tons of “sweets, goodies, and all the processed foods” you can find. These are leftovers and I know you feel guilty of throwing it out. But if you want to lose weight, you have to ditch those processed goods and replace your refrigerator with healthier options like your fruits and vegetables.
5. Choose Nutrient dense foods
Calorie counting is not as important as eating nutrient dense foods like fruits and vegetables. Avoid foods that are processed (in cans and boxes) and choose whole foods. If it's with a label and packaging, it's probably not food. Choose local and organic if possible, but anything is better than processed goods.
6. Try an after holiday detox or cleanse
I usually do a post-holiday detox or cleanse that involves 3-7 days of juicing/smoothies to help rest my digestive system. Did you know that your liver does most of the “cleansing” and “detoxing” of the harmful toxins in your body? You just need to help your liver and prepare your body well. Here's a 7 day Juicing and Smoothie Detox Plan that I usually use when detoxing.
7. Balance your blood sugar
Here are several surprising reasons to give up sugar. While I would say that it's entirely impossible NOT to consume sugar in any form, try to choose natural sugar sources like fruits. If I'm going to sweeten my drinks, I'd choose natural sweeteners, like honey, stevia and dates.
8. Try different spices or flavors to spice up your foods
One of the challenges of choosing fruits and vegetables as your main diet is the lack of rich flavor and spices that you've been accustomed with. But who says you can't use them. Try using cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and even chili powder when consuming fruits and vegetables. Of course, you can try them in your green juice and green smoothies as well!
9. Drink Water. Drink more water. And Drink More.
We have an old saying that we have to drink 8 glasses of water everyday. And it's not just a nice saying, but it's something that I do daily. Health experts recommends that we drink, hydrate and consume lots of water (pure and not bottled water) daily. It helps flush out toxins, helps with our body's chemical functions and is integral with proper functioning of all our organs.
10. Relax and Get inspired
If you've ever found out that you tend to eat more and indulge in unhealthy foods when stressed, you might be eating emotionally. Do what relaxes you. Don't grab the cake or chocolate as way of “rewarding” yourself after a tiring day. Read inspiring books. Get inspired by watching stories like Joe Cross' Fat, Sick and Nearly dead Movie which sparked a “green juice” revolution.