It's Ok For Weight-Watchers To
Eat More At Christmas.
By David McCarthy
It’s OK for Weight-Watchers to Over-eat at Christmas
The upcoming festive season can be a major headache to weight-watchers due
to the temptation that started confronting them the moment the stores went into
holiday mode. Dieters should never forget that they are human first and
weight-watchers second, and that humans do submit to temptation; it’s a natural
phenomena and nothing to feel guilty about.
The secret to not being left out at Christmas starts around now with a few
simple rules.
Rule 1. For every 3,500 extra calories that you consume you will gain one
pound (450 grams)
Rule 2. Set a maximum limit that you are prepared to gain during the
holiday. Not forgetting that what you gain you must also lose after the holiday.
Rule 3. Start now to identify foods that you love and check the calorific
value per serving. Also check the serving quantity. This is where most
weight-watchers hit trouble; they set the serving quantity themselves rather
than accepting what the experts say.
Rule 4. When you have identified the special foods that you like calculate
how many calories, in total, that you will consume (above your normal calorie
intake) and plan to eat that amount and only that amount extra.
Rule 5. Over the holiday move your exercise pattern up to the next level. -
If you walk for 30 minutes each day normally, increase it to 45 minutes during
the holiday period. You can make this three 15-minute walks if this suits your
schedule better. Naturally if you can make it one-hour exercise that is even
better but do not over-extend yourself, particularly if you have a medical
condition.
Rule 6. Now set the program that will make this extra weight go-away after
the festive season. For each pound you wish to lose each week you need to burn
off 200 calories each day by exercise and eat 300 calories less each day. 500
calories each day is easy.
Visit this link to determine how many calories you burn on various
exercises:
http://www.recipesmania.com/calorieexerciserate.html
In the developed world the average daily calorie intake is 3,500. The
average adult needs 2,000 calories each day to remain healthy so you must never
drop below this intake.
The great thing about calories is that although there is only one way to
receive them – FOOD. There are two ways we can lose them – LESS FOOD and MORE
EXERCISE. When you understand that simple equation you will take back control of
your weight.
Note: Never try to lose weight at a rate greater than one-pound (450 g) each
week. More than this and you will put it all back on again within a few months.
David McCarthy is webmaster of
http://www.recipesmania.com a website dedicated to freely sharing knowledge
of food and health related issues. It also has recipes for every occasion from
entertaining to snacks.