VigorBuddy.com | Tips to Make You Slim During the Holidays | Be it Easter, Halloween, or Christmas, we get super excited about the festivities and holidays. Holidays and celebrations come loaded with yummy food and a lot of laziness. Holiday weight gain is one of the common concerns for many adults. A study reports that people gain up to one pound or half kg of extra weight during holidays or vacations. You must have noticed that gyms start brimming with so many people surrounded by the guild of having holiday weight between November till January.
Holidays and the festive season is all about spending time with your loved ones, eating yummy food, or drinking hot chocolates. These factors contribute to the weight gain, and that one pound becomes extra baggage for many. We all get off from our offices to spend time with our families and savor the flavors of food in the form of cinnamon rolls, candies, hot chocolates, nuts, or our favorite cheesy snacks. November till January, the weather is cold, and we stay indoors resting in our couches with minimal physical activity.
Your friends and family send out invitations and arrange gatherings to enjoy the food and laughter together. We may not opt for it consciously, but we indulge in overeating and having nothing to do, focuses our attention more on food. When it’s time to resume our routines, we find out that we do not fit into our jeans anymore, which is a clear indication of weight gain. Many apps help us keep our calorie intake in check or remind us about our exercise routines. Some people follow the 21-day fitness app to adapt to healthy habits by setting reminders on such applications. If you are looking forward to relishing all the goodness of holidays and yummy food without gaining weight, here is how you can do that.
- STAY ACTIVE
The common traditions of holidays involve being sedentary, sitting on the couch, and eating food. With minimal physical activity, the food we eat piles up in the form of that extra pound, which later becomes a nuisance for us. You need holidays to spend quality time with your loved one. You can plan activities that involve physical movements like taking a walk in the park, playing indoor games like Frisbee or badminton. These small activities will help you burn some calories while you bond with your family.
- DON’T OVERLOAD
While eating and munching all the calorie-rich food, ensure that you are not over-consuming your food. Often at parties, we do not keep track of the drinks we have. Fix your number of glasses as liquid calories also increase your weight. Cold weather calls for hot beverages. Instead of going for hot chocolate, rely on black coffee. It will boost your metabolism and help in cutting the fat content of the food. Include fruits in your plates. Fiber content from the fruits will aid in the digestion of food, and the water content will help eliminate toxins from the body.
- SNACK WISELY
Holidays are full of cookies and other yummy foods, but they also hold the ticket for weight gain. You will find a jar of cookies and candies at every counter you visit. Be it your friend’s house or a relative’s, the first thing they will offer you is a cookie jar. Having treats in your arm’s reach means you are more likely to snack, and that too unnecessary. If you want to keep the weight gain at bay, the best thing is to keep the treats out of your sight. You might not control this at a party, but at home, you can choose to snack wisely.
- PLAY GAMES
One of the best means to increase physical activities is to play games with your family members and friends. You can plan for ice skiing or paly any other outdoor games that will increase the heart rate. Spending an hour in gaming will keep your body running and initiating the calorie burn that you have gathered by eating the food. You do not have to do a particular workout; these games often involve running and moving your limbs, which is also an exercise. Schedule your games before your meal; this way, your body will be more active in burning the calories you will consume after the game.
- STAY HYDRATED
Compared to summers, where we sweat and consume a lot of water, winters are often the opposite. The cold weather is more about consuming hot beverages, and many people consume less water than they used to in summers. When we drink less water, our body starts to retain water from the food we eat, and it just adds extra pounds to our body weight. To avoid the water weight from piling up, try to keep your water intake at least up to six glasses in a day.
CONCLUSION
Holidays are ideal for enjoying and spending time with your family. We all are busy most of the year running and managing our jobs for a stable income. Winters and holidays give us a chance to reunite with our families and bond with each other as much as we can. A family gathering is incomplete without food and snacks. When we are relaxed, we consume more food than we need, leading to weight gain—eating all the yummy cookies and ginger-bread. Consuming yummy Halloween treats or drinking the hot chocolates can add extra calories that we overlook. Practicing mindful eating with a little bit of physical activity can help us to stay slim during holidays.
