With Peepster, I mean Reester… uh Easter behind us, here are My Top 6 Tips to rebound from the holiday without adding inches to your waistline.
1. Water. Aim for 3-4L per day. Not only does water keep us hydrated, but it also helps keep our system running efficiently, with fluid balance and to ward off hunger between meals. If you drink 1L upon waking (yes, even before coffee *sigh*) and 1L right before bed, that means only 2L to work in over the course of your day. Carry a reusable bottle with you everywhere and refill often.
2. Fiber (vegetables). Fibrous vegetables are loaded with vitamins and minerals and carry an equally impressive water content. Invest in an OXO salad chopper and sneak multiple servings into a giant chopped salad. Seriously, it’s the best $25 I’ve ever spent! If salads aren’t your thing, blend greens into a shake, protein pancake batter, burgers or meatloaf or scramble with egg-whites.
3. Protein. The most filling of the macronutrients, protein has little impact on fat-storing hormones and can help speed the metabolism. Its slow digestion helps to control cravings and balance blood sugar, preventing insulin spikes that can lead to fat storage. Comprised of amino acids, protein spares lean muscle so that the body burns fat for energy. It, too, can be used by the body for energy. Muscle is a major determinant of basal metabolic rate, which accounts for over two-thirds of calories burned at rest, and so maintaining it results in less rebound weight gain. Aim for protein at every meal.
4. Efficient exercise. Work smarter not longer. Remember it’s intensity NOT duration that drives results in the gym. Think short duration, high-intensity exercise and/or longer duration activities that are more restorative in nature e.g. leisure walking, yoga, foam rolling. Lift heavy. Or as my friend Mel says, “just pick up some weights that aren’t pink and plastic.” It’s not that there’s anything inherently wrong with longer duration steady-state cardio (I LOVE it!) but when it comes to fat loss, it’s not the most effective approach.
5. Clean out the candy and restock with clean eats. Just because there’s Easter candy still lying around, doesn’t mean you have to eat it! Buuuut… if there’s nothing else to eat, you’re more likely to eat it. Set yourself up for success. Get rid of the junk and replace it with real, whole foods. Best detox that’s out there, IMHO. And no, tossing it isn’t a waste. Though our taste buds may suggest otherwise, the sugar-laden, melt-in-your-mouth good treats are really just toxins in disguise. *gag* Thirty minutes in the kitchen is all it takes to prep some basic eats that will have you on your way to feeling like your rock star self in no time. #beprepared
6. Do nothing drastic. Bear in mind that consistently tight nutrition over time is what gets results. Easier said than realized, but rest assured that a single meal, day or even week of “bad” eats will NOT result in you blowing up like a whale. Might you hold some water and take on the puffy look for a few days? Sure, but it’s nothing that a few days of tighter nutrition, adequate hydration and quality workouts can’t remedy. The worst thing you can do? Stress. Though void of calories, it will give you the exact opposite of the results you’re looking for. Oh, and no dieting. 😉 We’ll end up right back where we started: in the throws of the deprive-binge cycle; that negative self-defeating loop that gets us… nowhere. Leave yourself some wiggle room: 90% tight nutrition 100% of the time. #moderationFTW
*Bottom line: Exercise because you can NOT because you have to, and eat to fuel your body.
Head on over to my Facebook page and tell me: what is your biggest struggle as it relates to social eating (e.g. holidays, work events, family/friend gatherings)?
- Tweet
