The holiday season means delicious food, drool-worthy pastries, gatherings, and feasts. However, indulging in all those holiday treats means extra calories and pounds, right? So, now that the holiday season is over, you may wonder how to reset your diet and get back on track with your health.
No worries; in this article, we’re sharing the best tips on how to clean up your diet after Christmas so that the new year finds you healthier and more confident than ever. Let’s get started!
When it comes to eating healthy, cooking your meals is essential! Why? If you don’t have any home-cooked meals on hand, it is more likely that you succumb to the temptation to eat processed foods with excess sugars and salts that, of course, are not good for you. So, start cooking your meals at home, so that you know exactly what’s in them and how they have been prepared. If you don’t have enough time during the week to cook, don’t worry; you can always start meal-prepping on the weekends. Just make a list with all the ingredients you need, shop for them, and try your favorite big-batch recipes. You will both use up everything you have at home and won’t need to cook during the week. Win-win!
You already know vegetables are good for your health, so why not incorporate more into your diet? During the holiday season, you probably haven’t eaten your greens, so now it’s time to make up for lost ground and do a post-holiday detox by eating vegetables with every meal. Vegetables are rich in vitamins, fiber, and other essential nutrients that won’t only boost your immune system but also support your gut health. There are countless simple plant-based and vegan Mediterranean recipes you can find online, which will help you increase the vegetables you eat most deliciously!
Your post-vacation diet should not only include tons of vegetables but also plenty of water! While most guides on how to reset your diet after the holidays don’t include drinking more water, the truth is that water is essential for weight loss. Not only that, but it also helps prevent constipation, regulate body temperature, and flush body waste. During the holidays, you might have drunk too much alcohol, which has the exact opposite effect of water, so now that Christmas is over, try to drink at least 8 glasses of water every day to ensure proper hydration!
And by snacks, we don’t mean chocolate, pastries, potato chips, or cookies! If done the right way, snacking can improve your health, sustain energy levels, and help you feel satiated until your next meal. However, it is very important to choose your snacks wisely, ensuring they are low in sugars and salts and rich in vitamins, protein, and fiber. Fresh fruit, nuts, yogurt, cheese, peanut butter, and chickpea hummus are some of the yummiest and healthiest snacks you can choose!
Did you rest during the holidays, or did you sacrifice sleep for social gatherings? You may not realize it, but sleep affects weight loss as well as your overall health! More specifically, the lack of sleep can cause the body to store more fat, make you feel hungrier, and slow down your metabolism. Of course, you don’t want any of those, so make sure you get between 7 and 9 hours of quality sleep every night. Not only will it improve your skin, but it will also make you feel energized and motivated!
Trust us, feeling deprived won’t help you lose weight! While it’s easy to be lured by the promises of fast weight loss, the truth is that following the latest diet trend or juice cleanse won’t help you keep off the weight in the long term. Even worse, they might affect your metabolism, making it harder to lose weight. So, keep in mind that to reach your long-term weight loss goal, balance is key. Adopt a healthy diet incorporating lots of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and good fats and you will soon feel healthier than ever!
The gym might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but walking is an easy way to incorporate more movement into your daily routine! Whether it be parking your car far from your destination, walking your dog, or taking the stairs, there are several ways to walk more during the day. Even better, you can go for 30-minute to hour-long walks every day -they count as cardio. However, if you don’t have enough time to walk this much, a short power walk will do the trick!
Resetting your diet after the Christmas holidays is not as hard as you may think. By incorporating wholesome foods into your diet, sleeping more, and moving your body, you will not only lose holiday weight but also keep it off!
