As part of our Toast To 25 celebration week, I offered a nutrition seminar called Beating the Holiday Bulge. We had great attendance for it, but I know there are many more out there that need to hear this message so I’m going to give you the cliff note version. BUT we recorded the hour long presentation and it’s available through our BL 365 class library. Anyone with an unlimited membership has access to it via the video tab on our website or our BL app. I am passionate about sharing sound nutrition information to all our BL peeps and love that this class library offers our students another layer of value to your memberships. So here is the gist of it…
Work out at least every other day. Another way to say it is try to avoid taking more than one day off between your workouts. Your metabolism stays elevated for 48 hours after you work out and keeping your metabolism elevated not only burns more calories but also gives you more energy. When energy levels drop, we tend to make more emotional decisions about our food choices and we tend to reach for sugary foods to temporarily boost our energy levels.
Don’t skip meals. When you skip meals your body’s cortisol level goes up (that primary fight or flight hormone). Your body is wired for survival and if we are starving ourselves, the body reacts by holding on to your fat stores because fat is important for survival. Muscle mass, on the other hand, is much more dispensable so your body will break down your hard earned muscle to fuel itself. This can be the muscles in your biceps, but can also be the muscle of your heart. Oh, and your brain is especially negatively impacted by starvation and not only gets super crabby but can often rationalize eating everything in sight to make it happy again.
Eat 4-6 small meals a day. This one goes hand in hand with the last. Frequent eating keeps your metabolism boosted, your brain happy and results in a more steady and even blood glucose (sugar) level. When your blood glucose is steady less, of what you eat goes into your fat stores.
Take at least 2 yoga classes a week. The first thing I tell anyone trying to manage their weight more effectively is to get on their yoga mat. The number one reason that most people overeat is that they’re disconnected with themselves. They don’t slow down enough to even know when they are truly hungry or full. Get on your mat…start listening to yourself and begin this process of re-connecting.
Get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Once again, we are talking survival. When you sleep less than 7 hours per night your cortisol goes up. You need to sleep to survive. With increased cortisol comes increased weight gain. Main reasons you don’t sleep are anxiety, depression and stress. A regular practice of exercising and yoga will not only put you into a deeper sleep it will release hormones to help modulate your appetite. Win Win!!
Meditate. Calm the brain…which calms the body. The calmer your brain is the more you respond instead of react which also translates into eating more aligned with hunger versus the myriad of emotional factors that contribute to one’s appetite. When your body’s calm you have less muscular tightness which tends to rob you of energy. Oh and remember from #1 that when your energy levels are high you are less likely to reach for sugary treats to bring energy back up
Smile. Your body language has a lot to do with your emotional state. Sometimes you just have to fake it till you make it. Turn up the edges of your mouth…put a smile on your face and watch how your brain chemistry actually begins to change. When you’re in a better emotional state you tend to make fewer emotional decisions so you’re not eating because you’re bored, lonely or anxious…you’re eating because you’re HUNGRY!!
Stop and take 10 breaths. Deep diaphragmatic breathing is a powerful tool to change your brain chemistry. Even, steady breathing done in and out through the nose helps to promote a relaxation response which starts to calm you from head to toe. When you’re more relaxed you make better decisions related to all areas of your life including your health
Be where your feet are!! Yep super simple but super challenging. Be present. Focus on what’s going on in each moment…on and off your mat. The more present you are, the more aware you are, the more attuned you are with making good food choices! This will undoubtedly result in an intake of calories that more closely matches your output of energy.
There you go…cliff note version of a 1 hour seminar. If interested in more information, check out the full seminar in our Bl 365 library. Bottom line is that the average American gains 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. My intention is to give you the tools not only avoid that weight gain but to land in 2023 and healthier and leaner YOU!!
