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Use the Holidays to Speed up Your Metabolism and Lose Weight

By Deane Alban

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 15Nov2009 Word count: 726 Viewed: 205 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

There has been a belief for as long as I can remember that the average person gains a lot weight between Thanksgiving and New Year's. There is a health club in my town that always puts up a sign saying the average weight gain is 13 pounds! Fortunately, it seems that isn't true. Several studies have shown most people gain 1 pound over the holidays, but that pound usually never comes off, leading to a 1 pound per year gain. And among people that are already overweight, the average holidays gain is 5lbs. Not as bad as originally thought, but still not great.

There is now scientific evidence that an occasional pig out not only won't sabotage your weight loss efforts, but actually can help! You've probably heard that dieting slows your metabolism down and its true. Your body goes into "starvation mode" when you diet, causing you to create fat storage hormones. Send your body the signal that there is plenty of food once in a while can actually speed up metabolism by creating fat burning hormones.

But it doesn't matter what the weight gain averages are, it matters what your weight gain history is over the holidays. Here are some ideas to handle holiday stress that can lead to weight gain.

Will your friends and family support you or sabotage you? If you think they will sabotage you, don't tell them you're on a diet. I always just say, "no thanks, I'm full" and don't make a big production out of it at parties and family gatherings. These saboteurs will want to jam food down you if you do and make you feel guilty if you don't eat yourself silly on the food the prepared for you. If you have people who will support you around, tell them about your fitness goals, and they can help hold you accountable for your actions. They might also provide a few special healthy food items for you that others will appreciate also.

Keep temptation out of the house. Forget baking cookies! You can easily consume 300 calories just licking the bowl! Have a few cookies when visiting friends or at the office party instead.

Aim for weight maintenance between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Any weight lost is just a plus. Don't torture yourself by weighing in the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas or after a party. Wait a few days.

Don't beat yourself up with "all or none" mentality. If you blow one evening, don't worry. It may be just what you needed to raise your metabolism!

Include plenty of metabolism boosting foods in your diet such as yogurt, almonds, apples, grapefruit, oatmeal, beans, spinach, and turkey. Eating spices such as cinnamon, curry, and hot peppers have been shown to speed up metabolism. Both coffee and green tea can increase your metabolism, but drink in moderation so you don't get too hooked on the caffeine. Grapefruit has unique metabolism boosting properties, but interacts negatively with many medications, so please check your medicine cabinet first. Coconut oil has gotten a bad rap but is actually a very healthy fat good for boosting metabolism.

Your grandma was right. You shouldn't skip breakfast! The act of eating breakfast can raise your metabolism the rest of the day.

The holidays are our busiest time of year and can be the most stressful. So be sure to take the time to take care of yourself. Try not to get stressed. Stress increases your body's fat storing hormones. Get plenty of sleep. Lack of sleep will increase fat storing hormones, too. And always drink plenty of water.

And ladies, take time to pamper yourself - take along bubble bath, curl up by the fireplace and read a good book, get your nails done, whatever you like. You deserve it! Not to slight the men, take time to do whatever relaxes you, too. My husband likes to have a few friends over for a beer, "lite" of course, and watch sports.

And don't use January 1st as an excuse to pig out endlessly til then. It won't make you feel good about yourself, and you'll only be creating a larger hill to climb when you start that new diet next year.

Although good food is a pleasant aspect of celebrating, overeating is not the main point. Count your blessings and remember the real meaning of the holidays to you.

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