Prevent the Holiday Weight Gain

With the holidays just around the corner we are all bound to indulge in lots and lots of food. But wouldn't it be nice if you didn't end the year with extra baggage on your body. Well I am going to tell you everything that you need to do in order to keep the fat from creeping up on your body and not only that but actually get rid of some of it as well. So while everyone is trying to set new years resolutions to lose weight and have a nice looking body, you will already have one. That way you can set a resolution that is actually important.

Before I tell you the 3 things that you need to do due in order to keep your weight at bay. You should first make sure you set a goal. Make sure this goal is realistic and you can actually accomplish it in the given time. However a trick for this is that you should be make sure that it is a stretch though. Because even if you don't actually achieve the goal, you will have come a long way. Once you have your goal you just need to design a plan in order to achieve that goal. This is where you start incorporating those 3 important things.

First and foremost important is your diet. You have to watch what you eat. If we don't keep a control over our diet, it will be extremely difficult to lose weight. With so much delicious food all around us this time of the year it can be really hard to keep a control over what goes into our mouth. The best way is to just eat a very small piece and thoroughly enjoy it. So that later we don't gorge down everything in sight because we have been fighting with our desires. When it comes to eating less, the easiest way is to just eat a little bit less than you regularly do. That way you can make small changes in your diet, instead of trying to make big changes in your diet, which can be a lot hardier to maintain. Another helpful thing is to try and have 5 to 6 small meals a day that way you won't actually ever be hungry because you will be eating every 2.5-3 hours. This not only keeps your hunger in control but also helps speed up your metabolism, which helps burn some extra fat every day. Instead of just dismissing this, actually try it out because you may actually come to like it. Give it a shot for a week and see how you feel, because it will also help provide you with constant energy so you won't feel tired after a big meal. Instead you will feel light and refreshed and more content while eating the same amount of food.

Second ingredient is weight training. This is actually more important than cardio because it helps you build muscle. Which will help you burn more fat because muscle requires more calories to maintain. I know a lot of women are probably afraid of doing this because they think they will get big and bulky but this is not true. They do not have enough testosterone necessary in order to build those big muscles that you see in the bodybuilding magazine. The women in those magazines are injecting themselves with hormones in order to get those big muscles. But that is something you don't have to worry about. Instead you will get a more toned and lean look that everyone is after these days. In order to get a balanced look you should make sure you work out your entire body. Say you had 3 days a week that you could workout with weights ( If you are just starting out, you can just perform the exercise with either just a bar of with just bodyweight). An example of a beginners workout would look something like this.

Do the following
(3 sets of 12 reps, meaning you do the exercise 12 times, resting in between each set, doing this 3 times, you can rest 30 seconds to 90 seconds depending on how tired you are)

For Legs 3x12 for the these exercises
Squats
Standing calve raises
Leg curls

Chest & shoulders 2x10
Bench Press
Dips
Shoulder press

Back 2x10
Deadlifts
Barbell Rows
Pulldowns

Arms 2x10
Barbell curls
Lying triceps Extension

Abs crunches
2x15

So you basically do these 3 times a week, trying to increase the weight when you are comfortable with how much you are lifting.

Once you have your diet and weight training in order you can also add the third ingredient, cardio. We are all familiar with this one. This can be anything that gets your heart beating a little faster. It can be anything from a 15-30 min walk 3 times a week to biking for 40 miles a day for 6 days a week. This will depend on your physical level and how much time you have to give to exercising. Just keep in mind how badly you want that great body that you always imagined yourself having and that goal you set in order to achieve it.

Keep in mind that not only will following this plan give you a better body but it will also make you feel better. Its easy to sometimes get sidetracked, just remember to get back at it and try to stick with it. Good luck and remember to enjoy the holidays with out getting carried away about eating.