It's time to forget about Olivier and other holiday paraphernalia.
During holidays, we selflessly savored high-calorie dishes with sweet carbonated and strong drinks. It is not surprising that dresses are now bursting at the seams, and jeans stubbornly do not fasten. You just want to, wrapped in a blanket, lie on the sofa, and you have to pull yourself out into the yard literally by the scruff of the neck. However, now sit down on a strict diet is not worth it. There's a easy way to lose weight and regain vitalitythat you will need in the new year.
You just need to return to a healthy, light diet. Not burdening the stomach and not provoking fluid retention in the body, which means weight gain. And increase your physical activity.
It's easier than you think. So where do you start?
Tip #1. Restore normal bowel function
During the holidays, we often eat foods that load the digestive system: fatty, smoked, fried, overly sweet, spicy or salty. Because of this, bowel function may be disrupted, and a person complains of constipation or bloating.
Foods that should not be combined in one dish are also not good. For example, meat with mashed potatoes. So, vegetables are great with baked chicken breast, but potatoes are an exception to the rule, as they contain a lot of starch. For its splitting, other enzymes are needed than those that are responsible for processing animal protein. As a result, after such a meal, we feel as if we are about to burst.
So how to get in shape after such feasts? You need to review your diet and change your daily habits. In particular:
- Drink a glass of warm water on an empty stomach — it will start the digestive system. If there is no gastritis or ulcer, you can add a little lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.
- Favor unprocessed foods. For example, eat brown rice instead of white rice.
- Increase the amount of vegetables: both fresh and pickled. Fresh will give the body fiber, which effectively cleanses the intestines of toxins. But pickled vegetables contain natural probiotics, which allow you to restore a healthy intestinal microflora;
- Consume enough fluids. If the body is dehydrated, it means that toxins are poorly removed from it. Hence — an unhealthy complexion, «bags» under the eyes, general fatigue and weakness;
- It is believed that meat is not suitable for unloading the digestive system. And this is true when it comes to red. It is oily and takes a long time to pickle. Therefore, it is undesirable to eat neither beef, nor pork, much less lamb for the next 2-3 weeks! But poultry, on the contrary, is a dietary product that will help you return weight to normal and improve your well-being.
An ideal choice for body recovery will be chicken. This meat can be eaten daily, because it is dietary and is the main ingredient in many non-calorie dishes.
Chicken is useful for both children and adults of any age. Meat contains easily digestible proteins, iron, zinc, selenium, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, vitamins A, C, E, and B vitamins. Therefore, chicken has all the substances necessary to restore bowel function, improve digestion and strengthen immunity. In addition, the meat of this bird will provide energy for the whole day, and will also help reduce the level of «bad» cholesterol in the blood.
But it is important to pay attention not only to the products that we consume after the holidays, but also to their quantity and method of preparation. In particular, it is best to bake or stew meat, and replace the side dish with your favorite chicken with salad or sliced vegetables.
Non-caloric, but at the same time nutritious and tasty dishes can be eaten throughout the day without fear for the figure. Nutritionists also recommend eating 4-5 times a day, choosing small portions.
Tip #2. Limit your consumption of simple carbohydrates
You must have noticed that after long holidays, your appetite increases and you crave sweets? And all because the pancreas gets used to secrete a large amount of insulin to cope with shock doses of sugar and reduce blood glucose levels. So now the hand itself reaches for the next piece of cake. If you abruptly remove everything sweet from the menu, it will be bad. You will be plagued by a feeling of severe hunger, weakness, tachycardia, excessive sweating, dizziness, nervousness, decreased concentration — typical symptoms of hypoglycemia.
The amount of sugar in the diet should be reduced gradually. This does not mean that if during the period of holiday gluttony you ate three donuts a day, now you will eat two. No, instead of simple (fast) carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, eat complex (slow) carbohydrates. That is, pastries, sweets and all kinds of fast food, including store-bought dumplings and dumplings, replace with vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains.
Tip #3. Reduce the number of calories
It's simple: consume the number of calories that corresponds to your gender, age and physical activity — the weight is kept normal. Consume more — get better, less — lose weight. Therefore, if you want to lose those extra pounds, for some time you will have to reduce the calorie content of the diet.
And in order not to torment the feeling of hunger, lean on food that provides a feeling of satiety. This is possible thanks to dietary fiber, which is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, seeds and nuts, and protein — poultry, sour-milk and hard cheese, eggs, fish, chickpeas and the like.
Of course, it is important not only to keep track of portions, but also to cook food so that it does not lose its beneficial properties and, moreover, does not acquire harmful ones. That is, chicken fillet is better to bake in the oven than fry in a pan, and serve with steamed vegetables, not pickled.
Tip number 4. Remove excess water from the body
You have swelling not because you drank a lot, but because consumed a lot of salt, which retains fluid in the body. So now you need to:
- Limit your salt intake to 5 grams per day (less is better, but don't cut out salt entirely).
- Remember that all processed foods contain an excess of salt. Therefore, do not put salami, bacon or ham on bread, but slices of boiled chicken or turkey fillet. It will be both tasty and extremely healthy.
- Introduce potassium-rich foods into the diet: dried fruits (raisins, dried apricots), beans, lentils, spinach, broccoli, avocados, oranges, tomatoes, milk (animal and vegetable) , yogurts, nuts (cashews, almonds), chicken, salmon.
- There are enough protein foods.
- Consume more diuretic drinks: coffee, black and green tea, and the like.
Tip #5. Spend more time outdoors
It is believed that winter is not the best period for training outdoors. Short days, snow and low temperatures do not encourage «sorties» outside. Because of this, a lot of people train indoors or stop exercising altogether. Time to change that!
In cold weather:
- our body spends more energy to maintain a constant body temperature. So we burn calories and get rid of extra pounds faster;
- Regular activity in the fresh air hardens the body and strengthens the immune system. After training, the production of white blood cells increases, which protect us from pathogens;
- when we spend a lot of time indoors, we feel more lethargic, tired, we have problems with memory and concentration. All this is due to oxygen deficiency. Outdoor exercise speeds up breathing and heartbeat, as a result of which blood circulates faster through the vessels, saving our organs and tissues from hypoxia;
- daytime workouts help solve the problem of vitamin D deficiency in the body. This biologically active substance is produced by the action of sunlight and plays an important role in the process of bone mineralization.
So take off your comfortable, warm slippers and go outside! Ski and skate, play snowball fights with your kids, do simple exercises.
Don't wait until summer to start running. You can do it now. The main thing is to choose comfortable thermal clothing so that it does not hinder movement and it is neither too hot nor too cold.
If all of the above for you is from the «Mission Impossible» series, just go for a walk more often. And your body will soon regain its beautiful shape!