Today we will be looking at proven methods to battle the bulge during family gatherings, special occasions not to mention Christmas to help you maintain your figure into the New Year. Although the tips discussed specifically relate to Christmas and family gathering, you can easily use these same simple techniques practically all year round. They will definitely help stop you from over indulging at any family gathering or special occasion and help you lose the belly fat that at the same time.
Christmas is a time where you together with family and friends and really enjoy yourself but at the same time we have a tendency to over indulge as well. The thing is that Christmas comes but once a year and you feel that you really deserve a treat and it would be a shame to not enjoy everything there is on offer and so you end up trying everything from the turkey to the last crumb of Christmas pudding. As a result of our neglect or we end up adding a few pounds here and there and before we realise it the belly fat is back again or more apparent than it has ever been, but the worst thing is that you end up taking the tire into the start of the new year which is psychologically disheartening.
These simple techniques will help you beat belly fat whilst still giving you ample opportunity to thoroughly enjoy the wonderful food that is offer during Christmas and other family gatherings. These useful and practical tips will help you fight back against the bulge during these special occasions ensuring you have a good start to the New Year.
Lose The Belly Fat Tip 1 - Avoid the Honey trap
Preparation is the key. Since Christmas only comes once a year, everybody goes all out to make sure that it is perfect which includes hosting a variety of delicious foods, in addition to all the traditional dishes such turkey and Christmas pudding. Baring this in mind if you're not prepared for the day ahead then I'm afraid you're just walking blindly walking into a honey trap where you will be overwhelmed by the variety of foods on offer forcing you to lose your sanity and the ability to say no. By the end of the day when you've finally regained your sanity then you'll realise what a big mistake you've made and all you can do is sit back and pray that the food you just ate doesn't end up as belly fat. Many of you regularly go to the gym and exercise for hours on end only to allow a little relapse to jeopardise the results of all that hard work, its an absolute shame.
So to avoid all the guilt the day after you should prepare for the day in question, whether it be Christmas or a family gathering it makes no difference, Before you turn up you need to take time to visualise the events before you turn up for example, the dishes you will eat, how large the plate is and what activities you will do during the day. By doing this you won't be walking blinding into a honey trap. You will already have mental defences in place that will help you control the amount you eat so helping you fight belly fat accumulation. You will also be more inclined to say no to an extra helping when you've already had enough.
Lose The Belly Fat Tip 2 - One spoon at a time
Once you arrive at the dinner table it is really easy to forget everything and just dig in. This is a big mistake that will undue all the earlier visualisation work you did in preparation of this day. You need to be mentally strong. Simply knowing that you need to be strong is enough for you to act in accordance to your initial plan. Remember the goal is to fight belly fat and not over indulge, If all fails then I have a trick that will help. Scan the selection of foods on offer and decide which ones you really want to eat. Then simply enjoy one full serving spoon of these dishes and have only half a serving spoon of any other dishes you just want to try. This will allow you to try a variety of dishes without overindulging. So you will enjoy the best of both worlds
Lose The Belly Fat Tip 3 - Don't let your body go into starvation mode
Have you ever noticed that what you miss a meal you feel so hungry that you just dig into anything and everything you can get your fingers on. Everything tastes good when you're hungry. This is a mental and physiological reaction. Your body needs energy and it really doesn't care whether it tastes good, but at the same time it knows that you won't eat anything that your tongue disapproves so it forces your brain to believe that anything and everything you see tastes good. Remember that taste is just an electrical signal that is sent to the brain, nothing more.
What's even more worrying is that it will reduce your ability or awareness of the quantity of food you are eating and increase the level at which you feel satiated. This is the level at which the body tells the brain that it has enough food and you should stop eating. Why does your body do this because you have missed meals and so it thinks that food may be scarce and so it would be a good idea in terms of survival that you eat as much as possible at the very next chance you get, which means that you will end up eating too much when you arrive at your family gathering.
Another harmful side effect of missing meals is that you force your body's metabolism to slow down so you end up burning calories at a much slower rate. This is big NO NO when you're trying to lose belly fat. Missing meals also forces your body to go into what is commonly known as the starvation mode. This is where your body decides that it will convert the next source of energy [food] into fat instead of burning it off so that it can save for a rainy day, for example if you miss meals in the future. As you can tell starvation will do you no favours in terms of losing belly fat, so make sure you don't skip any meals.
Lose The Belly Fat Tip 4 - Don't get the munchies
Everybody knows that when you've had a few things you lose your inhibitions, not to mention the fact that you sometimes get what is commonly known as the munchies. This is where you just want to eat. The last thing you want when your trying to lose belly fat is give your self a reason to eat when you don't need to so avoid alcohol is possible. Bare in mind that every glass of alcoholic drink contains on average 200 calories and 1/8 cup of eggnog contains over 450 calories. Considering the average human being burns only 120 calories running 1 mile, you would have to run close to 1 ½ miles to burn off one glass of alcoholic drink and run close to 4 miles to burn off the eggnog. I hope that puts drinks alcoholic drinks into perspective. I know it did for me.
Lose The Belly Fat Tip 5 - Make the active choice
I'm sure you already know that exercise is the key to losing belly fat and keeping it off, but exercise doesn't start and finish at the gym. Having an active lifestyle can make all the difference between having unnecessary unflattering belly fat and a perfectly toned flat stomach. Simple things like walking or cycling to the shop in stead of driving, walking up the stairs instead of using the elevator. The same can be true about family gathering. Instead of lazing on the sofa engage in activities
Lose The Belly Fat Tip 6 - Clothes that cling to your body
Have you ever noticed that you are less inclined to eat too much when your wearing a well fitted dress because your afraid that if you eat too much then your belly will show and the last thing a girl wants is for a people to think that she's got a bun in the oven when she hasn't. Use this to your advantage. When going to family gathering where you know there will be an abundance of food wear something fitting that shows off your best figure, so you will be conscious that is you eat too much that an unflattering tummy will show. This will definitely keep you on your toes.
Lose The Belly Fat Tip 7 - Don't be the last one to leave
Have you ever been the last one to leave at a party? I've done it and one thing I've noticed time and time again is that you end up helping out with the cleaning and tidying up, which is great but it also gives rise to the opportunity to snack on the left-over's. Not to mention the doggy bag that your host won't let you leave without. Simply avoid this by not being the last to leave, I'm not saying that you should be the first out the door but once the party had died down start to prepare to make your own way as well. This will avoid the entire situation.
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Best Wishes,
Sam
