Keeping in shape for Christmas

May 2009

The festive season is fast approaching. Are you worried that this means an inevitable blow out in your figure especially now that you have found that weight seems to pile on faster and is harder to shift at mid-life? Well, take heart. There is still time to take some preventative action with these damage control ideas with the bonus of greater control of menopausal symptoms.

Try it and see:

• Change the focus in your mind. Concentrate on preventing weight gain, rather than weight loss. With the Christmas rounds of parties and dinner, you are setting yourself up for failure if you try to lose weight fast so you can look "glam".
  
  
• A crash diet slows your metabolism, which means you'll burn fat at a slower rate. When you return to normal eating after a week or 2 of crash dieting, you will put on the weight again faster, because your body has gone in famine mode.
  
  All you need to do to stop famine mode is to:
  
  
  • eat 3 regular small meals, always including a protein portion (meat, chicken, fish, beans, legumes, tofu) plus plenty of vegetables – avoid starchy vegetables such as pumpkin or potato and lay off the pasta and bread
  • have 2 snacks per day – nuts, fruit, yoghurt (this will also keep your blood sugar levels in balance so you won't get cravings).
    
    
• Get a pedometer – Walking is the easiest exercise and the pedometer helps you set your goals for increasing your activity. Measure how many steps you normally take in a day and then aim to increase this regularly. Set yourself a goal. For example to increase your steps by 1000 you would build up by taking 250 more steps each day. It would take you 4 days to get to your goal. Exercise not only stabilizes your metabolism and blood sugar, it helps to keep hot flushes at bay. Walking also has a calming effect so it will help to keep pre-Christmas anxiety in check.
  
  
• Avoid wine and other alcohol – It will worsen your hot flushes and disrupt your sleep. At parties or when dining out have no more than 1 glass of white wine or 2 white wine spritzers (half wine, half sparkling mineral water) or soda water with a slice of lemon and ice. Alcohol stimulates your appetite and this will make it harder to make good food choices when eating out.
  
  
• Give yourself time out. Find a way to be alone and quiet each day, for half an hour if you can, but any amount of time (even 10 minutes) will help to calm your spirit and help you get perspective.
  
  
  • Get up 15 minutes earlier.
  • Water your garden.
  • Read an inspirational book.
  • Go to the park.
  • Walk the dog.
  • Go to bed 15 minutes earlier.

  It doesn't really matter what or how, but do it. Find a way to be alone and quiet every day. Stress and anxiety stimulate fat building hormones, so it is important to find ways to calm yourself, especially if Christmas is a tense and difficult time for you.
  
  

• When eating out or at parties, focus on the good food choices.
  
  These include choosing:
  • salsa or tomato-based dips rather than cream cheese
  • celery and carrot sticks instead of crackers.
    
    
  At a restaurant:
  • move the bread and butter out of your way
  • order 2 entrée-size meals rather than 1 entrée and 1 main
  • go for the fish and seafood (grilled or pan fried)
  • ask for a fresh salad or steamed vegetables with dressing on the side
  • avoid the pasta or deep fried dishes
  • choose tomato-based sauces
  • have a fruit platter for desert.
  
  
  
• Support yourself through hormonal changes with the menopausal health diet. This emphasizes foods that help you adjust to the falling hormone levels.
  
  

For more information about the menopausal health diet, please contact Elizabeth Blomberg at mind body insight. You can also schedule a consultation online.