Have the Christmas holidays left you a tad “rounder” than before? With some many family feasts, this has actually become a norm. Everybody loves some turkey and gravy, but gaining fat in as little as 1 week is certainly an unfavorable side-effect of the Christmas holiday feasts. If you wish to lose all this weight as fast as you’ve gained it, here are some tips:

Replace your ordinary dinner with low-calorie soups. If you have the habit of eating a rich dinner with all kinds of food combos e.g meat and potatoes, you won’t easily lose weight, simply because the calories will be increased. Of course you should eat something and not starve yourself, but make sure that it has low calories and it can be easily digested by your stomach before actual bedtime. Vegetable soups and bone broth, in this case, are perfect examples of healthy and low-calorie options. Try boiled broccoli blended with chicken stock, bone broth with chopped veggies, or rice, chicken, and lemon soup.

Drink more water and herbal tea. There are only two drinks with zero sugar and next to zero calories: water and plain herbal tea. If you wish to hydrate yourself in a healthy manner, all any drinks that contain sugar or starches are a big no-no because they are loaded with calories and they are simply bad for you. You can freely drink up to 3 litres of water and up to three cups of tea per day without any worries--your daily calorie intake certainly won’t spike, regardless of how much you drink.

Note down your specific exercise goals and regime. Since most of us prepare a list of new year’s resolutions, dedicate a separate section for a specific exercise regime and goals. First, note your specific goals e.g lose 3 pounds per week for a whole month and the respective exercises to achieve them e.g High-Intensity Interval Training. As long as you are not listing vague goals and note down a specific exercise regime, you can follow your plan and track your progress more easily.

Avoid starches and carbs. Among the biggest enemies of our figure is certainly the high consumption of processed or “white” carbs coming from starches e.g white bread, pasta, potatoes, pies and crusts, etc.  And since you’ve probably had too much of them during the holidays, try to limit if not eliminate their consumption over the next few weeks, if you really wish to lose weight. If you want to get some carbs, try some complex carbs like sweet potatoes or root vegetables, brown rice and nuts or seeds. That way, you can gain the energy-boosting properties of carbs, minus the calories and bloating.

Add more fiber to your diet. If you want to make your diet meals more satisfying and wholesome, try adding more fiber to your diet. Diet fiber has the ability to help digestion and make you feel fuller for longer, even if you have consumed a low amount of calories. Foods that are naturally rich in fiber are green leafy vegetables, beans, lentils, quinoa, oats, nuts, and seeds (chia seeds and pumpkin seeds). Aim to consume around 25 grams of fiber per day, so you can help your system lose weight easier.  

Have you gained some weight during the holidays? How do you try to get rid of it? Tell us in the comments below...