Getting back in shape after the holidays
Beef and pork, foie gras and terrines, mayonnaise seasoned salads, and festive cakes, all leave their mark on our bodies. At the end of the festive season, we can gain up to two or three pounds, according to nutritionists.
So, in order to stop the fattening process and lose some weight as quickly as possible, it is advisable to go on a diet. Nutritional experts say that the solution to shedding the extra pounds is to adopt a healthy lifestyle, combining diet and physical activities in a harmonious way.
Here are some tips on how to do it:
Eat five meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and the two daily snacks, which, are also essential, especially if you want to lose weight.
For best results, nutritionists advise that breakfast is the most consistent meal.
- So, for breakfast, you can eat eggs, with one or two slices of ham, a cucumber, and a tomato. If your body cannot tolerate eggs, you can choose dairy products, such as a bowl of cereal milk or low-fat cheese, or yoghurt. Try to drink tea instead of too much coffee.
- For lunch, you can go for soup. If you need more energy, have a steak or roast chicken, but without chips! Go for a salad or grilled vegetables. Pasta is also a good choice for lunch.
- Dinner should be light. An assortment of salads or two yoghurts should be sufficient.
- Fruit and vegetables are the ideal snacks. But be careful not to overindulge! Fruit contains fructose, a substance that promotes fat deposits. The first snack should be taken one hour before lunch and the second one three hours before dinner.
- In case you feel hungry after eating one of the main meals, nutritionists recommend eating yoghurt, as the latter can create a feeling of fullness.
Apart from the foods to be included in the daily diet, liquids also play a very important role in the fight against extra kilos. Therefore, in order to easily lose the weight accumulated during the winter holidays, good hydration is recommended.
- Since during this time of year our bodies do not feel the need to drink as much water as in summer, nutritionists recommend drinking at least 1.5 litres of water a day.
- Avoid carbonated drinks because of their high sugar content. If you feel like drinking orange juice, for instance, try making your own. Not only will a glass of natural juice satisfy your desire for a sweet taste, but you will have benefited from the energy provided by one of the snacks listed.
- Alcohol should be excluded from the daily diet. It contains 7 kilocalories per gram. Therefore, during the diet period, you should not drink alcohol.
Sport should not be missing from the weight loss programme, especially if you want to lose weight in a healthy manner.
Fitness experts say that exercise is crucial when dieting, as movement speeds up the metabolism and the pounds can thus come off more quickly. For best results and if your schedule allows it, exercise in the beginning of the day. Indeed, from a muscular and physical point of view, this is the time when the body is most efficient as during the night, the metabolism slows down. According to fitness coaches, by exercising in the morning, you will have the opportunity to accumulate more energy, which is transformed into a number of benefits for the rest of the day, among those is the fact that muscle mass will grow faster and fat will disappear.
Lastly, to achieve the desired results, the duration of the workout should vary between 15 and 50 minutes, with the possibility of increasing it as you go along. According to professional coaches, the increase in the duration of the training session will go hand in hand with the decrease in the intensity of the effort.