A few extra pounds are not a problem, don’t blame yourself for it. Humanity invented holidays. This means that he needs this: pleasant moments, fluffy snow, preparing gifts, surprises, decorating the Christmas tree, friendly work of all family members.
And, of course, the festive table, which, as a rule, is prepared ahead of time, is often purchased in stores for an astronomical amount of everything in order to have enough for the upcoming New Year's week. Endless, endless, endless holiday feasts begin. Resisting from eating, for example, an extra spoonful of a delicious salad, a piece of juicy kebab or a goose with a crispy crust becomes an extremely difficult task. And then – desserts, cakes, sweets. And almost no table is complete without strong drinks.
Experts have found that the optimal duration of holidays should not exceed six days. If you meet this deadline, the human body is able to return to the work rhythm without significant harm or consequences. But a longer stay in this mode makes this difficult, because the body begins to perceive this kind of festive turn as a change of course and adapts to new conditions for itself. The rate of metabolic processes and water-electrolyte balance change.
At the end of the holidays, approaching bathroom scales can often be a little scary. I recommend not torturing yourself with doubts and still confronting them. According to the laws of physiology, a person can gain no more than 150 g of adipose tissue in one day. That is, over the entire New Year holidays, you can add up to 1.5 kg of fat, and the rest is liquid. It happens that girls say that they have gained three, five, eight kilograms, but this is usually due to salt, which is included in food dishes and sauces. By limiting sodium in the diet, some of the New Year's kilograms gained will begin to gradually melt away.
In addition, it is known that when a lot of extra calories enter the body, it becomes more generous and begins to distribute excess energy left and right. That is, significantly more energy is spent on ensuring all vital processes. Metabolism accelerates. Therefore, the faster we start working, burning off the gained kilograms, the more grateful the body itself will be, effectively giving away the excess.
The body did not have time to eliminate the excess of sweet, salty and fatty foods during the holidays (and we all succumbed to temptation) in the form of toxins naturally. And to get rid of them faster, I recommend drinking as much fluid as possible, giving preference to plain or mineralized water, but without gas, as well as herbal and fruit teas without sugar. Avoid salt completely for about one to two weeks. This process is called natural detoxification. When you give up salt, the liquid begins to actively flush out accumulated toxins.
But during the period of active cleansing, substances necessary for active life are also removed – vitamins and microelements, the loss of which must be compensated. Vitamin and mineral complexes can provide invaluable help. A handful of dietary supplements recommended by a doctor are a must-have for everyone. As well as seasonal vegetables and fruits, freshly prepared green smoothies, fermented foods. All this is a storehouse of useful substances.
Moreover, soluble and insoluble dietary fiber in vegetables and fruits also take a direct part in natural detoxification, stimulating intestinal function and combing out the microvilli surface. Therefore, I recommend including in your diet, for example, two or three juicy fruits (oranges, tangerines, pomegranates), and at least 500 g of vegetables. For example, turnips, radishes, pumpkin, all types of cabbage, onions, garlic, sliced vegetables. You can also make sauerkraut without adding salt, but add a small amount of pharmaceutical probiotics. Your immune system will be strong.
Even if you set a goal to return to your previous size or lose weight, you should never give up foods with complete protein. They quickly saturate and provide building material, including for immunoglobulins (not only for building cells, but also for renewing cell membranes). In addition, when consuming protein, food thermogenesis increases. That is, by processing sources of complete protein, we spend more energy. Metabolic processes are accelerated by 30%, which is also important for losing body weight. You just need to choose low-calorie sources of protein – low-fat types of fish, meat, poultry and, with good individual tolerance, cottage cheese.
I do not recommend using radical methods of weight loss, much less fasting or resorting to fashionable intermittent fasting. There is no dispute, fasting, of course, will help with extra pounds, but it will only harm your health. Especially in winter, when the body needs energy. Immunity suffers significantly. And the kilograms lost during hunger quickly return. Therefore – no hunger strikes!
But split meals with small volumes per meal and a low glycemic index are welcome. And only until 19:00. Four to six meals a day. Every meal speeds up your metabolism. And the more often you throw this brush into the firebox, the higher your metabolism will be.
One or two fasting days will help. This will not only help you get rid of the gained kilograms, but also normalize the digestion process, which is disturbed by the abundance of a variety of foods. For example, eating rice cooked without salt as a monoproduct for two to three days will give you a result of minus 3 kg. And after that, you can do a couple more fasting days using boiled poultry meat.
You should give up alcohol-containing products and finally give your body a rest and replenish its resources. Alcoholic drinks are high in calories. Moreover, there are perhaps fewer calories per molecule than the fattest product. And calories are empty – they do not build cell membranes, do not provide enzymes, hormones, but provoke appetite. Following the alcohol, everything we see flies into the firebox, so we need to restrain ourselves.
But the fasting program should not be limited only to dietary measures. A visit to the sauna and Russian bath can also help get rid of accumulated toxins and waste, improve your emotional state and, of course, physical fitness. Don’t forget about physical exercise – walking in the frosty air, jogging, skating, skiing, outdoor games, visiting a fitness club.
And spring is just around the corner, you need to go to the mirror and think whether it’s time to prepare for it now.
If you follow the recommendations, the result will not be long in coming. But the most important thing is not to starve to help the body and take care of it. Hunger is not a tool for getting results. Only healthy food will help you lose extra pounds, maintain immunity and performance.
The author is Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of the Russian Federation, director and chief physician of the clinic and the author’s food delivery project. She worked with Nikolai Baskov, Andrei Malakhov and others.
The editorial position may not coincide with the opinion of the author
#Lunches #dinners #kilograms
