Control The Damage From Yesterday’s Feast
July 5, 2015 // Nutrition
Holidays and festive traditions are meant to be enjoyed, even with the indulgences aplenty. Instead of feeling guilty for having the chips or eating the bread, focus on adjusting your normal dietary intake for the following day.
With this method, you can release any anxiety you may have about weight gain or loss of progress. By committing to one of the suggestions below, you can relax knowing that you have it all under control.
Here are a few strategies that will get you “back on track” in less than 24 hours:
Take A Break From Eating
I think it’d be safe to say that you consumed enough calories to hold you over for awhile. Use the next morning as a chance to reset your hormones, lower your blood sugar, and clear your stomach by introducing a small fast.
By forgoing your normal first meal (for most people, this is the 9am Sunday breakfast) you will extend the natural fast that occurs from sleeping. The ideal number is 16 hours, which would mean if your last bite of food was at 830pm, you would resume eating normally around 1pm. It’s pretty straight-forward — Avoid eating any food while drinking plenty of liquids until 16th hour has been met.
Do A Challenging Workout in the AM
Put all those carbs and sugars to good use through a challenging workout in the morning. The morning is the best time to workout following a holiday. If you wait too long to exercise, you run the risk of feeling sluggish, becoming too busy, and ultimately skipping the workout. Morning exercising has a profound effect on metabolic activity and nutrient uptake (using the food instead of storing it as fat).
Use this day of rest and repair as a chance to try and discover a new, challenging way to exercise.
Spend A Day Without Carbohydrates
Contrary to popular belief, carbs are not the devil. Carbohydrates have immense value to the human body. Carbs play an important role in energy usage and preservation. However, excessive consumption of carbohydrates has a water-retention effect, causing you to bloat and feel lethargic. Use the following day to flush out the high sodium levels in your kidneys by choosing to forgo any starch or fruit substance for the entire day. To make up for the loss in food, replace each carb food with a fibrous source.
Add more foods like root vegetables, sautéed kale, & aspargus to your dinner plate and remove the rice or potato for the day. These foods pack a ton of nutrients, phytochemicals (cancer fighters), fiber, and are extremely low in calories.
With a little effort following the holiday eating traditions, rest assured you will not lose your figure from one day of enjoyment.