Wow, it’s the New Year again. Time to put away the Christmas decorations, clean up the house, and deal with those unwanted pounds that found my midsection over the last two months.
Why are November and December so hard on the waistline?
Every year I tell myself I’m not going to gain any weight over the holidays, but it is usually a losing battle. When I actually sit down and research what happened, I come away with one powerful answer…
It’s their fault!
Yes… it’s the Starbucks and their Peppermint Lattes. It’s Applebee’s and their holiday pies. It’s all the people in the office with their home made fudge, brownies, and Christmas cookies. It’s our friends and family who give us See’s candy for the holiday.
It’s not my fault… really it isn’t.
I’m helpless to resist!
Every year I try, but the temptation is too great.
Sugar, white flour, and all sorts of unseen fat are combined in a myriad of different ways to trip me up. This combines with the fact that it has become very cold outside and my daily runs/walks have gone away.
So what really happens?
It really comes down to this…
For two months out of the year I’m taking in more calories than I’m burning. Usually about 500 extra calories a day.
500 calories/day x 7 days/week = 3500 extra calories/week
3500 calories equals one pound.
By the time I realize the damage, 10 weeks have gone by, and 10 pounds have found my midsection.
It’s simple math really!
So to lose 10 pounds I need a 500 calorie deficit every day to lose a pound a week.
I can do this two different ways…
I can restrict my calories by 500/day or burn an extra 500 calories with exercise.
Or I can do both.
Both sounds good.
Here is the challenge. I need to find a way to burn an extra 500 calories a day and develop a diet that I can stay on that restricts my calories by 500 below my baseline.
It has to be fun and enjoyable
It has to work!
Tomorrow we’ll look at a mysterious diet secret …
Question: How were the holidays on your waistline?
