Dropping the holiday weight

It’s been just over a week or two and I can happily say I have dropped those terrible holiday pounds! Yeah!

Now, its not like I gained a ton of weight, a mere 3 extra pounds, I say mere simply because this time I was able to quickly drop them. If you don't take those pounds seriously and take a stand against them they will continue to grow in number. That 3 or 4 pounds can quickly become 5 or 6 and even higher if you don't take some control over the out of control holiday season and that's when the trouble begins.

Most people gain a few pounds over the season, the problem is that they gain a few with each holiday and get familiar with the new number on the scale, that's when the problem just continues to grow. Take a stand now and decide to find no comfort in those few extra pounds, and realize you are the only one that can get rid of them.

Now, not everyone will drop the pounds so quickly. I revved up my metabolism, cut out all of the crap (except for Bill's birthday cakes!) and trained hard as well; a combo that certainly worked.

When I say cut the crap, that’s exactly what I mean. Drop all of the processed junk, reduce or remove the whites (sugars, flours etc) eat as clean as possible, crank up the protein (high quality at that - fish, chicken, beans), high quality fats, fresh fruits and veggies, loads of water and nothing processed; really it's not as hard as people seem to think, there is an abundance of food out there that is "clean" and quick to prepare. Many think its rocket science; really it just takes some thought. And don't cut the fat, people seem to think fats (butter, oil etc) make you fat, however your body needs fat to work properly so just be sure to utilize the correct fats. Throw out the margarine and vegetable oils; those will certainly do more harm than good. Reach for butter, olive oil, raw seeds and nuts, avocados and coconut oil etc.

The more "clean" you keep your diet, the less cravings for junk you will have, really, if you've never tried it you should. It may take a few days but it will remove those terrible cravings and help you to gain some control back in your life.

Take a look at your current “go to” recipes or foods and revamp them. Start making gradual changes to your recipes, you can go drastic but I don’t want anyone to go too far overboard and get frustrated and go back to the old ways. Not every change you make will work; trust me! I have had many changes that have not necessarily turned out the way I had hoped, just don’t lose faith and remember to try again.

Don’t be afraid of the unknown; take it as a challenge and face it head on, you never know what the outcome may be.