Winter weight gain is a real thing. It happens to so many of us year after year that we cease to believe we have any power over it. But when you spend your hard earned money on body contouring procedures, it suddenly becomes imperative to stay fit and healthy in order to maintain your results, right? The truth is that whether or not you’ve had cosmetic surgery, you can avoid seasonal weight gain—you just need to make it a priority. How? Follow these 5 tips:
Hit the gym
We all know that exercise is an important part of staying fit and healthy. But knowing this is not the same thing as practicing it. In the darker, colder months, it’s easy to lose the motivation to run up and down the Convention Center steps or hike Cowles Mountain. This year, fight the temptation to stay home in front of the TV and join a gym instead. Take advantage of group classes or just zone out to your favorite tunes on the treadmill. Exercising will do triple duty by helping you burn calories, beat holiday stress, and combat the winter doldrums.
Practice mindful eating
The first thing most dieters do at the start of the holiday season is make promises to themselves. They promise to eat celery while everyone else eats pie or to drink seltzer water while everyone else has champagne. While it’s true that you don’t want to take in more calories than you burn, depriving yourself of traditional holiday pleasures is not necessarily the answer to staying fit and trim. In fact, sometimes the more we deprive ourselves, the more likely we are to binge. This year, make it a point to practice mindful eating. Eat a healthy meal before your holiday office party so you don’t show up starving. Allow yourself a small portion of a holiday treat, and take the time to enjoy every bite. Eating slowly and mindfully at every meal will help you digest properly and decreases the likelihood of overeating.
Prioritize self-care
The holidays can be stressful, and studies have shown that stress leads to weight gain. Not only do many of us overeat in response to stress, but high levels of stress hormones also slow down our metabolism. In order to avoid seasonal weight gain, you’ll want to enter the holiday season armed with some stress-busting strategies. Start by getting enough sleep every night. Exercise outdoors when the weather permits so you can get your vitamin D from our famous San Diego sunshine. Take up meditation or yoga. Get a weekly massage or facial. Prioritizing your self-care routine may feel indulgent at first, but your lower stress level will have an impact on everyone around you—and it’ll help you look and feel gorgeous in your most form-fitting holiday dress.
Set SMART goals
Goals help us stay focused on the long-term vision (zero pounds gained over the holidays) while also remaining motivated in the short-term. Goals work best when they’re SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, results-focused, and time-bound). In other words, setting out for the holiday season by promising “to be good” or “to eat healthy” is a bit too vague. Instead, set a goal to walk 3 miles on the treadmill 3 times a week through the month of November or to eat a low calorie salad for lunch twice a week from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. Setting health and wellness goals through the holiday season will go a long way toward helping you avoid winter weight gain.
Seek support
Sticking to health and fitness goals during the holiday season can be tricky, especially when everyone around you is indulging in rich foods and high calorie specialty craft cocktails. Having someone to reach out to when you’re struggling with motivation or temptation can make all the difference in meeting your goals. Hire a fitness coach to stay on top of you at the gym. Seek the support of a nutritionist to help you make healthy food choices. Get together weekly with a friend who has goals of her own to share triumphs and setbacks—or just to go for a hike. Surrounding yourself with supportive, positive people will make you more likely to achieve your goal of avoiding winter weight gain.
We can help you look and feel great for the holidays!
Sometimes great results are the best motivation of all. At SD Body Contouring, we emphasize health and wellness to all of our patients. And we also understand the frustration of working hard but not seeing the kind of results you want. Whether you’re seeking liposuction for the little pockets of fat that don’t respond to diet and exercise, breast augmentation to address the deflation of your breasts after pregnancy, or a tummy tuck to remove excess skin and achieve more flattering body contours, we can help. Once you see how great you look in your favorite holiday dress, we’re pretty sure you’ll have plenty of motivation to keep making healthy choices through the season and beyond.
Give us a call at (619) 697-1325 to schedule your free consultation.
