I have to admit defeat…during the holidays, despite my best intentions when it comes to weight loss and weight maintenance, even my strongest efforts shatter into pieces right before my very eyes. The moment I lay my eyes on the buffet table, my resolve just seems to disappear.
I have to say that I have found other ways to deal with the whole thing. If I can’t totally abstain from enjoying the holiday feasts, then I will just put extra effort into exercising BEFORE the holidays. MSN has a really good article for people like me (and you, probably!). Check out this computation of calories:
Consider a typical winter-time week: Let’s say you eat an extra 1,500 calories on the day of a big meal, and you stack on an additional 1,000 extra calories at a holiday party on another evening. If you burn off that surplus 2,500 calories on the other five days of your week, you’re likely to keep your weight in check. That means you need to create a caloric deficit of 500 calories on non-feasting days.
Ok, so we have the math down pat. So how do we get to burn off the right amount of calories so that the weight does not pile up during the holidays?
An easy way to burn a few hundred extra calories is by spending 30 to 40 minutes walking briskly or using a cardio machine. If you’re too busy to devote this much time all at once, break up your exercise quota throughout the day. Do two to three of these mini-workouts (they each burn around 100 calories a shot). See these weight loss tips here.
Maybe you guys have some of your own tips to share?
Originally posted on December 3, 2008 @ 12:09 pm