Avoid Holiday Indulgence & Weight Gain
With Thanksgiving behind us, and Hanukkah and Christmas approaching fast, we are in the middle of a Food Lovers eating marathon. With so many delicious sinful foods, it’s no wonder we tend to gain some weight during the holiday season. However, it is also a time when people get depressed due to financial reasons, family issues and often because loved ones have passed away and we tend to be depressed. Whatever the reason may be, you indulge and then day after Christmas feel even more depressed knowing you let yourself go. Not the way to start off the New Year.
What if you started today to take control of your eating so when New Years rolls around you feel better about yourself because you didn’t gain weight? You can do it and I will share with you how.
I am far from a nutritionalist but I am a Food Lover and I have some sound advice that may really help you. The myth that if you do not eat and starve yourself you will lose weight…that I can tell you is a farce. Your body reacts to not eating by storing fat so by not eating you are not helping your cause. However, starving your body of unhealthy foods is a totally different ballgame.
During Lent this past year I lost a significant amount of weight and I did it all without any exercise and simply changing my diet. I actually lost 18-pounds in 21-days doing a Daniel Fast. I do not suggest that you NOT exercise, even if only 30-minutes of walking is all you are capable of at least do this much. Muscle weighs twice as much as fat but by creating muscle it helps you to burn fat fastrer creating a leaner body not to mention a healthier body. However, I am simply explaining foods you put into your body. You need to detoxify your body from all the bad things that make you crave more bad foods. I used the Daniel Fast Cookbook version ll from Susan Gregory and I will tell you that I now understand the foods I had been eating only made me crave more food.
The first 4-days was the most difficult but after the 4th day it was actually pretty simple. First I changed my entire kitchen. I removed all things in which were unhealthy that I tend to reach for when my stomach yearns for sinful foods. Second, I made homemade soup, which I ate before lunch and dinner to fill me up. I made a Tuscan bean soup with escarole but it was homemade vegetable broth. There were no meat products at all. It’s healthy, light, easy, filling and economical. Before lunch and dinner I also ate a simple salad, arugula with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Then all my meals consisted of fresh fruit, vegetables or whole grains. No eggs, milk, sugar, meat, pasta or bread my body quickly filled with energy.
If I can do this then so can you. I learned many things but the #1 thing I learned is that the foods I love are not always so healthy. Eating no dairy, meat, sugars and processed foods, my body quickly shed the pounds and I felt so much better. I can promise you this…nothing tastes as good as being thin or at least healthier.
I know the holidays are especially difficult but with some determination and preparation now, you can avoid the New Year blues of feeling depressed that you let yourself go.
Also, if I can help you with recipes to assist you, please email me at socialchef@michaelvanhorn.com.
Enjoy the holidays and help stop childhood hunger by sharing the Food Network No Child Hungry Campaign.
