Did you know you can actually lose weight effortlessly during the holidays? One of the biggest problems people have when trying to drop a few pounds during the holidays is the mindset that they must stick to their strict diet plan. This is virtually impossible and just leads to frustration and failure. There are a few ways you can succeed at dieting this holiday season, enjoy your food and end up a few pounds lighter.

1. Plan to break your regular diet. This is a huge one. There are so many delicious things to eat, I personally believe indulgence is crucial to success. My theory is that if you stick to your diet and cheat, you will actually be adding more calories trying to diet, than if you just ate what you wanted in the first place.

2. Drink Plenty of Water. Don't forget about the water. Water helps keep your body hydrated and working properly. Plus, if you drink a glass of water before you eat, you will get full faster and be less likely to overeat.

3. Sleep. Sleep is important to help your body burn calories efficiently, relieve stress, and prevents late night snacking (you can't eat if you just go to bed when you are tired). But the realistic version of this is to just take naps. We tend to get less sleep during the holidays, so find a few minutes here and there to rev yourself back up.

4. Eat. Stop eating and you put your body into starvation mode. It will start to find ways of conserving energy to protect itself, you will not burn calories effectively and you will feel tired -- giving you a perfect excuse to skip any exercise you might have had planned. You have to eat to lose weight the right way. It doesn't do any good to crash your metabolism for a measly 10 pounds (that's what most people average losing on starvation diets) and not be able to eat when you are done. That's how people gain weight back quickly.

5. Exercise. I am sure you have heard that muscle burns more calories. So, if you find your schedule is tight and it is impossible to fit in cardio, you can still fit in some isometric or strength training exercises. This is very important and it can be done throughout the day in 5 or 10 minutes intervals. Just doing something is much better than nothing at all.

Focus on enjoying yourself and eat the foods you love in moderation, and you may find you have actually lost weight easily this holiday season without even trying.



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