If you are anything like me, you anticipate gaining weight any time there is a holiday. I mean all those great dishes and goodies, who could resist. In addition to all the fatty foods, the holiday season also reeked major havoc on my workout schedule. This week was suppose to be my first day back in the gym, so I decided get weigh in to see how much damage I had done. To my surprise, I was down 5 lbs.
After I took a minute or so to do my “booty dance”, I actually had to sit back and think about how I manged to eat so much of my favorite foods and NOT gain weight. I mean the entire month of December was like one big cheat day. So what gives, how did I manage to drop those pounds. Ok, after sitting down and mulling over my time, I figured out just what had worked for me to stay on track. So here’s what I did:
1. I drank lots of water – For some reason I was really thirsty during the holidays. I think it was because I consumed more sugar and salt than normal and I needed the water to balance my sugar levels. Since I gave up sugar and reduced my salt intake, by body just isn’t use to processing that stuff. So I think the water flushed it right on out of my system.
2. I got lots of sleep – I made up for old and new getting in my share of snorgasms. I slept late, took and nap and went to bed early.
3. I didn’t over eat – I just love all the good food during the holidays, and I’m not ashamed to admit that normally I over eat. After I’m full, I wait just long enough for my belly to make room for the next dish, then I’m headed to the kitchen again. Honestly, its pure gluttony. This season, I only ate a fair portion of food twice a day and did small snacks the rest of the day. My portions were average, not large… limited to one of 2 servings of 2 or 3 things. And instead of getting everything at once, I saved some of my other favorites for snacks.
4. I ate goodies in moderation – Sweet treats are my absolute FAVORITE naughty things to eat. But this year, I ate my delicious delights in moderation. Only 2 slices of cake the whole month of December (that’s huge, because I can eat a whole cake by myself in a matter of a couple of days). I did indulge in a few cookies here and there, but only 2 or 3 at a time. Now I would love to tell that this was all will power. But I made it a point NOT to have my irresistible sweets around. For example Red Velvet Cake and Sweet Potato Pie… I can take it or leave it. My family loves both, so they devoured them mostly before I could get to them. But had there been a yellow chocolate cake in the house, I dare say this would be a different blog post.
5. I packed in the veggies – There was no shortage of my sister’s carrot salad or my cousin’s collards in my household. So I ate those type items for snacks. They were filling and went a long way with keeping my body regulated.
6. I steered clear of alcohol – This wasn’t hard for me because I don’t actually drink. But from what I understand, alcohol is packed with calories. Sooo glad I didn’t have this hurdle to negotiate.
Tell me, how did your holiday health & fitness plans go?
Nakedly Yours,
Jai Stone – The Emotional Nudist
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