No doubt the joyous occasions of Ramadan and the Eid inspired many to overeat. You pay the price, though, when you feel tired or bloated from over-indulging, or, worse, when you step on the scales and realise you've gained weight. So, to keep weight gain from escalating, you should have a plan of action in place to shed the pounds as soon as you resume your normal routine. Here are some tactics that may help you feel better and get back in shape quickly after the holidays. - Start an aggressive diet and restrict your calorie intake. Put any sweet and fattening treats in the freezer for another time, or simply throw them out. But don't starve — simply have smaller meals, spaced every three or four hours. - Reduce your sugar intake. Drink water and tea instead of soda and fruit juice. - Replace candy, bagged snacks and desserts with fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat, low-fat dairy products and whole grains. - Sleep eight hours per day. Insufficient sleep can impact your appetite. - Drink from two to two-and-a-half litres of water per day. - Reduce the carbs and eat fibre instead. - Don't skip meals.It makes your metabolism slower and will make losing weight harder to attain. - Try organising your meals as follows: - Drink a cup of warm water with lemon right away after waking up. You will enjoy having pure vitamin C in your body and this will work as a natural detox.
- Eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.
- Plan morning and afternoon snacks three hours after having breakfast and lunch. - Try to eat dinner before 8 pm and sleep by 10 pm if possible. - Write down your food intake in a notebook or use a smart device. Being aware of what you eat can serve as an effective reminder of which foods to avoid as you work on dropping holiday pounds. - Resume your normal gym routine or take one or several walks daily. Depending on your current weight and how fast you walk, you could burn between 60 and 360 calories per day. - Reward yourself with small gifts as you drop holiday pounds. - Try “calorie/carb cycling.” This approach was shown in a 2013 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition to be almost twice as effective as restricting calories alone. It includes: - On five days a week, follow a slightly restricted Mediterranean-inspired diet (1,500 calories/day, 40/30/30 per cent ratio of calories from carbs/protein/fat). - On two days a week, follow a carbohydrate- and calorie-restricted diet (650 calories/day, fewer than 50 grams carbs/day).
- You can select when to follow the low-calorie days, but it's recommended to choose non-consecutive and non-training days. - Fortunately, if you've overindulged on delicious food you can generally easily recover. Simply go back to your normal eating habits and active lifestyle, and any weight that you gained should come off. - Finally, and most importantly, don't delay. Don't lie to yourself. Start right away after the holidays.
