One Holiday Strategy to avoid weight gain
This will help you stay healthy during the holidays
Roast turkey, slow cooked ham, gingerbread, eggnog - with all these and many other delicacies, it seems anything but easy not to gain weight over the festive season. A recent study shows how you can easily and effectively avoid the extra pounds over the holidays.
Cake going on the hips
The tricky thing about it: In most cases, the extra pounds will stay on your waistline for the next few months. Year after year it’s one way how your weight increases. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
As the study shows, it is possible to maintain the current (December) weight without having to forego the delicious festive meals entirely.
The magic word here is intermittent fasting. In intermittent fasting - also called interval fasting or part-time fasting - periods in which you eat normally alternate with periods in which you completely or mostly abstain from eating.
This way of eating will let you enjoy the many benefits of fasting without feeling cravings or weaknesses.
Intermittent fasting during the holidays: Cut calories for two days
22 healthy but overweight adults took part in the study. Ten of them were assigned to the diet group, the other twelve were the control group.
From mid-November to January 3rd of the following year, the diet group fasted two days a week and ate no more than 730 calories a day. To support them, they received shakes and supplements on the fasting days.
For the remaining five days of the week, the subjects were allowed to eat as usual.
Less weight, better blood values thanks to intermittent fasting
The results are clear: During the trial period, the average weight of the diet group had decreased from 76.3 kilograms (168 lbs) to 75 kilograms (165 lbs). The subjects in the control group, however, had neither gained nor lost weight.
But not only the numbers on the scale improved during the test period.
The scientists also recorded that the blood lipids improved in the subjects in the fasting group. The value of the "good" HDL cholesterol had risen, while the value of the nutritional fat triglycerides had decreased.
In the control group, things looked very different: Here, insulin levels, the “bad” cholesterol and total cholesterol had deteriorated.
No regrets in the new year
Even if it may not seem that easy to fast for two days a week during the holiday season, almost all of the subjects consistently followed the fasting diet through to the end.
Intermittent fasting is definitely worth a try: After all, it only limits feasting to a small extent and prevents regrets in the New Year.
In addition, not only does your figure enjoy the restricted food intake, but your health as a whole benefits.
This is how intermittent fasting works
Various methods can be used with intermittent fasting:
16 to 8, 12 to 12, 5 to 2 - there are no complicated calculation formulas behind these terms, but rather the different methods that exist for intermittent fasting.
5:2 method - Eat 5 days, fast for 2
You can eat whatever you want on five days - and fast on two (non-consecutive) days, with a small amount of food allowed. Women can consume up to 500 kcal, men up to 600 kcal, for example in the form of vegetables, fruits or soup.
16:8 - Eat for 8 hours, fast for 16 hours
In each 24-hour interval you can eat within an 8-hour window, but not in the remaining 16 hours. That means you have to time your meals differently. Normally you might have dinner around 8 p.m. and maybe have breakfast again at 7 a.m.
With the 16:8 method, one tries to extend the meal break to 16 hours. That means: have dinner earlier and breakfast later. Three healthy, balanced meals are recommended.
6:1 - Eat 6 days, fast 1 day
This method only fasts one day a week. On the fast day, the focus is on plenty of fluids (at least three liters) and fat burning drinks.
For example: 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar with 1 teaspoon honey in a glass of water. Or: the juice of half a lemon with a glass of water. The drinks dampen hunger and stimulate the metabolism. Diluted juices, whey and fat-free broths are also allowed. Coffee, alcohol, and beverages containing calories must be avoided.
On the remaining six days of the week, you eat as usual - as varied and calorie-conscious as possible. It is advisable not to eat anything heavy the evening before the day of fasting. So, the body can get in the mood for the diet day.
How to deal with holiday weight with intermittent fasting and still lead a happy family life, I will show you in my upcoming podcast “How Intermittent Fasting Can Get You Through the Holidays”
I wish you a wonderful and joyous holiday season!
Nutritional coaching with Beyond your Scale
What type of diet is best for me? And if that's not for me: How do I keep a healthy weight? I will always be happy to provide you with the information you need to live a healthier, happier life.
Now it's your turn!
I will post this blog on my Facebook group page “
Living Well Community”. Go HERE to join the conversation about holiday stress and leave your comments.
I will also post my podcast on ITunes and Spotify. If you don’t want to miss it, you can subscribe HERE to my podcast series “The PJ Wellness Show”.
For more recipe ideas click here or go to my website
www.beyondyourscale.com and click on recipes.
I can’t wait to meet you soon, and hope that you will share many more ideas how to maintain your weight during the holidays. And, of course, any tips how we can really enjoy the festivities. LET’S GO! Let's enjoy the celebrations without the usual waist line sufferings.
Still unsure? I have good news for you! I can help you kickstart your personal health goals for free - click on this
link and book a free zoom call with me. It can’t be easier and more convenient.
My best,
Patrick
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