Holidays Damage Control Series

I've never been "really" fat - but, a few years ago, I did carry about twenty pounds more than I should have. I did loose that twenty pounds since, and that makes me a weight loss expert that you can blindly trust, right ? I'm glad that's settled. I have developped a new theory according to which the weight loss of your wallet during the holidays is directly proportionnal to your own weight gain. Genius, isn't it ?


Alright, sooo, since we all know that within the next two weeks, we'll all gain anywhere between five to ten pounds, let's get mentally ready to control the damages and loose that extra weight after the holidays. I'll upload a few tricks I found always worked for me whenever I tried to loose weight. One thing you should know is that my weight fluctuates very easily - I can gain or loose two-three pounds overnight. It might take you longer to see some results - don't give up !




First and foremost : how's the weight going ? Calculate your BMI (because I support lazy people, click HERE for an online app to calculate it for you). One should not only swear by this : it doesn't consider whether you have a small, regular or large bone structure, your body constitution, your age or sex... Still, it's a useful measure to evaluate how you stand weight wise. If you're a 17.5, click on that little X button in the corner of your screen and go get yourself a soda and a cheeseburger, or something. My point is that some people don't need to loose weight.

Set your objective : what are you trying to achieve ? Loose that holiday-five-pounder, loose those fifteen pounds that slow you down when you run to catch your bus, or loose the fifty pounds that might give you a heart attack before you turn thirty ? One should always set small, quickly achievable goals : normally, the healthy way to loose weight is one pound a week. Set an objective to loose five pounds in a month, for example.

Weight Watchers : I don't understand people who subscribe to Weight Watchers - mainly, because I don't see the point. You can very easily find the Weight Watchers Points formula online to calculate how many points different foods are worth. It's pretty easy : Calories divided by 50, plus Fat divided by 12, minus Fibers divided by 5, and then you round up. The thing to remember from this : the more fibers there is in something, the more you're allow to have it. I think you can find out online how many points you are allow a day, based on the amount of weight you want to loose. I'm no fan of maths - I think that back when I was loosing weight, I was allow about 18-20 points a day. I never really cared to note everything I was eating, but it did help me realize that a 8-points donuts was a big dieting no-no.

So, what I did learn from hearing co-workers (I used to work in an office with middle-aged ladies who were all Weight Watchers members) talk about their little fat watching meetings ? Muffins and donuts are to be avoided by all means ! It surprized me as well to learn that bagels should be avoided. Instead, have an english muffin - they taste good and don't fill your love handles as much. No fat with feculants - for example, avoid butter with potatoes. For some reason, your body absorbs fat more when you have it with potatoes, pasta and such. White meat over red meat. Avoid booze (haha, yeah right. And then, see how fun New year Eve's party really is. Great disappointment).

You might have noticed some Weight Watchers certified aliment, that display the amount of points each item is worth. There are some Weight Watchers bread, bagels, cookies, etc. Though a little more expensive than they sometimes should, these aliments are usually divided in pretty small portions, and contain more fibers than their non-weightwatching equivalents. I got addicted to Weight Watchers cookies-  a good way to satisfy cravings without having to run for a half an hour in the stairs at work !

That's the main thing to always always keep in mind : small portions, and fibers. Buy whole wheat pasta, bread, etc. Tastes the same anyway. Have two toasts in the morning instead of three. Eat egg whites instead of whole eggs (the yollk contains most of the fat, you can have three egg whites for the same amount of fat of a whole egg. That means you can have nine egg whites with your breakfast instead of three eggs !).


I got sick of this post and will finish it later.