How To Lose Weight After Christmas – Diet And Exercise Tips

By Fitness And Weight Loss Tips | Jan 5, 2010

The holiday period is over and it is time to face reality again. There is a good chance that many of us are finding it difficult to fit into our clothes after devouring the turkey, log cake and Christmas pudding.

To give you an idea of how much you might have eaten over the Christmas and New Year season:

- a piece of fruit cake contains 300 calories
- a 50 g mince pie contains 200 calories
- one serving of Christmas pudding is between 160 and 330 calories
- a slice of log cake contains 200 calories

Compare these treats to the average 400 to 500 calories in a normal lunch, and you will know why you have added an inch to your waistline. It only takes about 7700 calories to add a kilogram (or 2.2 pounds) to your weight. A break from your normal fitness workouts is likely to have contributed to the weight gained during the holiday season.

Here are some tips to minimize the weight that you are likely to gain over the festive season:

eat slowly to give your brain time to sense the fullness so that you do not overeat.
eat light meals such as salads during the day that you are going to attend a Christmas or New Year dinner party
do a half hour of cardio before the party as this raises your metabolic rate to help burn off the excess calories that you are going to consume during the party

Here are some exercises to help you burn off the excess calories:

Jogging for 30 minutes at 8 km per hour will burn approximately 250 calories
Brisk walking for 30 minutes at 6 km per hour will burn approximately 140 calories
Swimming for 30 minutes at 50 meters per minute will burn approximately 315 calories.

Below are three suggested exercises to work off the festive belly fat:

1) Medicine Ball Woodchopper Squats

This is a cardio exercise that targets the sides of the stomach, thighs and butt. In a standing position, raise the medicine ball above your head on one side. Then bring it down to the other side, as you come to a squat with knees bent at 90 degrees. Revert to the original position. Do 15 repetitions on each side. The video below demonstrates the movement. If you don’t have time to go to the gym, you can use the medicine ball in place of the cable station.

You can do a variation of the above exercise by doing a low to high woodchopper exercise. To motivate yourself further, you can do this exercise with a partner as shown in the video below:

2) Burpees With Jumps
This is like a normal burpee, but ending off with a jump from the squat position instead of just jumping up. The jump makes this a dynamic exercise for cardio purposes. Do 15 repetitions. To challenge yourself with more variations of the burpees for a good workout, check out the video below:

3) Plank
This exercise targets the core muscles. With your body off the ground and your back straight, prop yourself on both elbows and hold the position for 30 seconds. As you get stronger, try holding the position for a minute.

Exercise is the only way to shed the weight that is gained from overeating. Try a different workout every three days or so to keep it fun and challenging.