You Got Off Your Diet, Now What?

You Got Off Your Diet, Now What?

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Diet

By Kennedy Shelley

Christmas is done, you are thinking about packing up the tree, but you are worried you packed on the pounds this year.

Let’s face it, it is tough to stay pure during the holidays.  Not only is the temptation real, but you also feel bad if you don’t try a dessert your mom or dad made.

And there is a reason why these desserts are called “Holiday Favorites.”  Because we like them.

But remember a “Holiday” is a day, not your life.

So how do you get back on track?

KNOW WHY THE CRAVINGS CONTINUE

Our body is hard-wired for sugar.  We want glucose.  Mainly because it is very rare in the natural world.  Our ancestors did not have fruit available to them all year, only during certain seasons.

They would find honey every so often.  So, having a jar in the pantry was not something they knew anything about.

So, once we start a sugar cycle, it’s tough to get off.  It fires up the reward centers in our brain, so there has to be a period of self-denial to get back on track.

GET OFF ON A FAST START

After a feast, our ancestors didn’t eat for a while.

This was formalized in some cultural and religious practices and called a “fast.”

Sometimes this is the best way to break our holiday eating pattern.

Just don’t eat for a day, or extend out the time between meals (which is known as intermittent fasting – see this article in Freedom Health News for more information)

Drink lots of water during your fast.  And black coffee and green tea will help keep the body going during a fast and actually improve the healing properties of a fast.

EXERCISE

While exercise alone won’t help you lose your holiday weight, it will help get that extra sugar out of your muscle and bloodstream.

This will stabilize hormones such as insulin cutting down the cravings.

Think about exercising while hungry to increase the benefit. (See this article in Freedom Health News to learn about the benefits of exercising hungry)

CUT THE CARBS

All carbs, even the whole grain ones, are converted into glucose (sugar) in our digestive system.  They all spike our insulin levels, which turns excess glucose into fat.

And they also tend to get out of our system in a few hours which makes us feel hungry again in a few hours.

That’s why people who eat high carbs need many meals and snacks throughout the day.

Try going “Carnivore” for a few days.  All meat, no carbs.  Carbs can only come from plant sources, so eliminating all plants from your diet effectively eliminates carbs from your diet.

What most people find is that this eliminates the blood sugar spikes, which naturally reduces their hunger and desire to graze and snack.

INCREASE SALT

Thankfully most of the medical community has realized that salt is essential to life, so they are no longer pushing for low levels and no longer treat it like the enemy.

But we get most of the salt in our diet from processed foods.

Be sure to add it back in when you get back on track.  Eating fewer processed foods and carbs will reduce your salt and carbs.

A strange thing happens when you cut out carbs, you start losing water weight quickly, which can cause cramps because of an electrolyte imbalance.

To see how important salt is, see this article in Freedom Health News.

IT WAS A HOLI “DAY”

It’s not a Holi “week”, month or lifetime.  You enjoyed family and friends.  You enjoyed time together.

Now it’s time for you to enjoy the body you have been given and take care of yourself.

If you are doing smart nutrition and feeding yourself healthy foods, this should not be punishment, it’s just getting back on track to your regular diet so you can be the healthy person you want to be for next year and the years to come.