After 12 Days of Eating, count calories and exercise
January 8th 2011 01:36
By Harvinder Sandhu, Surrey Now January 7, 2011
Now that the 12 Days of Eating are over, we can stop and take a breath. No more parties every other night, no calorie-laden food in the house, no excuse for indulging in alcohol.
It is amazing how much we can end up consuming during the holidays. There are many parties leading up to and during the month of December, from office parties to the gathering of the book club to the dinners the relatives put on. It's all about eating.
It seemed that way to me. I had so many parties to attend that I felt quite party-lagged by the time Jan. 1 came around. Every time I turned around there was another dinner to go to, another table laden with food to stare at and try not to attack. It was torture. Even at work people were being nice and in the mood to share. To share chocolate-covered cookies, chocolate brownies and just more chocolate! Being addicted to this stuff, avoiding it was hard work. Even though I tried really hard, I still ended up gaining weight, though not as much as I have in the past years.
Just like many others, I too made another New Year's resolution to lose what I gained and hopefully more. So, from someone who is working at dropping the weight, here are some tips to assist those who are like-minded.
First off losing weight is not impossible, it's just hard work.
It comes down to a simple formula: calories in versus calories out. An average person needs about 1,200 calories for the body to meet its need to function. Anything over and if you are sedentary, then you will gain weight. It's as simple as that.
Calories in versus calories out. Focus on that, make it your mantra. Repeat it every time any left-over chocolate or cookies, or whatever your addiction is, surface in front of you. Ask yourself, is this helping or hindering you to achieve your goal. Another trick is to walk away from the temptation. It's amazing how soon the mind forgets when the eyes are not staring at the temptation.
Cut down the calories you take in. One easy way is to just halve what you would normally eat. Load up the plate as you would normally then remove half. Don't deprive yourself of your favourite foods; just eat as little of it as possible. That's for calories in.
For calories out, it means moving your body. Start small if you are new to exercise, try walking. It's easy to do, doesn't require membership, good for your heart and the fresh air will also invigorate your mind. Start by walking for 20 to 30 minutes at a stroll, time yourself using a landmark as your marker to see how long it takes you to get there. The next day see if you can shave off 30 seconds. Slowly work up to more and soon you'll realize you're walking really fast and maybe even running. Gasp! You did it, you are exercising. You are burning calories and as long as you don't go crazy in putting in more calories, you will lose the weight.
Lastly, it will take time to drop the pounds. The pounds add up fast, but do take time to come off, so don't be hard on yourself, just keep at it and the results will show. This is just a simple formula to follow, check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.
If I'm making losing weight sound simple, that's not the intention. I'm talking to all the women, and men who are feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of trying to lose weight, who are staring at the many weight loss products and services out there that are saying "pick me, pick me." I'm just simplifying what it really takes to lose weight. Remember, calories in equal calories out.
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