As the glow of the New Year’s Eve festivities begins to dim and the reality of another year sets in, now is the ideal time to take stock of your health and lifestyle.
It’s no coincidence that for many people, losing weight is one of their main resolutions when the New Year dawns. After the full festivities of the pre-Christmas, Christmas, and post-Christmas/New Years celebrations, many of us can feel quite guilty about the volumes and types of food that have been consumed over the past month.
While there are hundreds of ways you can lose weight, tone up, and be healthier and happier than ever, here are my top 12 tips for showing off a fabulously fit Twenty 12 body:
1. Begin each morning with a 20-30 minute walk. Go before breakfast and yes even before your first coffee! This gentle workout will wake up all your muscles and put your metabolism into power mode for the day ahead, perfect for burning extra calories. You’ll also feel less cranky on the way to work because you’ll be out in the fresh air with your blood pumping through your body, a great energizer for the rest of the day.
2. Avoid heavy and greasy fried food or, on the contrary, never leave home with an empty stomach. Aim for a low-calorie, high-protein breakfast, such as a whole-egg omelet with ham, cheese, and tomato, or whole-grain banana toast with ricotta and sugar-free maple syrup. At less than 400 calories, these two breakfast examples are tasty and easy to prepare.
3. When it’s 10 am and you’re already starving, avoid the vending machines and boxes of chocolate fundraisers from your colleagues at all costs! A banana and coffee with skim milk and sweetener will accompany you until lunchtime, with this snack of less than 150 calories.
4. Let’s face it. Making a salad every morning before work is not only tedious, but by the time you’re ready to eat it, the spinach leaves are limp and you’d rather go hungry than have to eat your soggy salad. Bring a week’s worth of salad ingredients to work and prepare one each day in the staff kitchen, or consider purchasing frozen meals that cook in under 10 minutes and are always under 400 calories. Paired with a sugar-free soda, this light lunch won’t leave you feeling like you need a nap like a can of greasy take-out.
5. Half past three. While not officially a dictionary term, any office dweller will know that as the clock nears 5 p.m. Skip half past three and stock your desk drawer with low-calorie muesli or fruit bars (make sure they’re under 150 calories, otherwise stick with an apple or other fruit).
6. Avoid the advances of the office facilitator. You know the type. The skinny person in your office who endlessly bakes, offering her delicious danishes and creamy pastries, but never eats them? They are called enablers and for some reason they love it when people eat their treats. The best way to avoid consuming them is to say a polite “no thanks” and move on. It’s impossible for most people (myself included!) to “eat just one” muffin, cookie, or slice piece. Once you try these treats, you’ll start to reason with yourself that another two or three (or more!) pieces won’t hurt. They are going to.
7. Another dangerous time to overeat can be while preparing dinner. What may start as a couple of crackers or a handful of peanuts to bail you out can lead to many more handfuls and much regret. Sounds boring, but munching on a raw carrot while preparing food will satisfy your hunger and give you something to eat to take your mind off those calorie-laden treats in the cupboard. Your dinner should be around 400 calories and never more than 500 calories per serving. The perfect examples are the spicy Cajun chicken kebabs and the green salad; sweet potato soup with goat cheese and pine nuts; or creamy garlic pasta with shrimp and vegetables.
8. I’d like to get back on track with those calorie-laden treats in your cupboard. The best way to combat his temptations? Get rid of them! Throw out any of your food weaknesses and just stop buying them. It’s much easier to leave them on the supermarket shelf than to ignore them in the kitchen. Another way to avoid junk food while grocery shopping is to consider ordering your food online. There are no lineups either!
9. Spend just 30 minutes each weekend planning ahead for next week’s meals. This simple exercise made me lose more than 6 kilograms for several months. By planning tasty and nutritious meals ahead of time, writing my grocery list and the list of meals I would eat each day, I was always armed with healthy foods. I also regularly make double the amounts for dinners, so I have delicious leftovers the next day.
10. Never deprive yourself. Set aside one meal a week for something delicious and yes, that includes dessert! It’s what you do 95% of the time that affects your waistline. That one meal a week will keep you sane, satisfied, and lean.
11. Find out how many calories are in different foods. Once again this helped me lose weight. I don’t mean obsessively writing down every morsel that passes your lips, but having a general understanding of how many calories are in different foods will help you make better choices. And honestly, once you realize that a piece of rich chocolate cake can have 500 calories or more, you start to realize that maybe those calories aren’t worth the five minutes it takes to consume the cake.
12. Exercise 5-6 times a week. Three of those sessions should be “gut busters”, ie. a run, aerobics, cardio, and weights class at the gym, or biking, while the other 2-3 should be gentler forms of exercise, such as walking, yoga, or a more casual bike ride. Once you make exercise a part of your day, like reading the paper or spending time on Facebook, it really becomes another must-have habit.
I wish you good health, happiness, fun and light in 2012 and always.