Winter break usually consists of meeting with friends from home over a calorie filled dinner, lounging around on the couch with Netflix and a big bowl of buttery popcorn, and tons of holiday desserts! With spring semester coming in full swing, it’s time to get back on our grind! The bad habits of meeting over dinner and devouring plates of cookies may have taken a toll… but no worries! Here are 8 ways to drop the holiday pounds!
Team Up!
Your roommate might be having the same issue as you, so why not plan nightly trips to the gym together? When you work out alone, it’s easier to skip exercising because you’re only disappointing yourself if you don’t go… if you have scheduled workouts with your roomie, you’re less likely to ditch the workout because you don’t want to let her down.
Take Classes
If you’re anything like me, you try to stay clear of the treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc. Let’s face it, jogging in place on a treadmill doesn’t exactly constitute as “fun.” The Rec offers a ton of classes, from cycling to hip hop Zumba to yoga. So pick up a program guide next time you’re at the gym to see what times the classes are! Working out is much more fun when you’re in a class doing activities that you actually enjoy.
Don’t deprive yourself
When you tell yourself that you can’t eat sweets, French fries, pizza, etc…it’s only going to make you want them more. Depriving yourself of certain foods eventually leads to late night snacking or binge eating. Remember, everything is fine in moderation!
Make healthy changes
One of the easiest ways to cut calories is to make little changes. Whenever the food court is empty, do you rush straight to the fried chicken sandwich and fries? Next time, try a ham and turkey sandwich on wheat bread with low-fat yogurt. Little changes like this will make you more full longer, so you won’t be hungry an hour later.
Don’t skip breakfast!
I’m sure you’ve all heard this one before, but it is so true! Skipping breakfast can cause a drop in blood sugar, which will cause you to overeat later on in the day. So grab some fruit, oatmeal and eggs and you’ll be good to go.
Eat slowly.
This is one of my worst habits. For some reason I feel like the food on my plate will disappear if I don’t eat it fast enough- pathetic, I KNOW! It actually takes your body 20 minutes to realize that it’s full. So next time you have meal, try eating only half of it, then waiting about ten to fifteen minutes. You might be surprised how full you are afterwards.
Skip the frozen coffee drinks.
Winter break meant sleeping in until noon, now a lot of us have 8am’s and have a hard time getting out of bed. Feeling tired may lead you to stop at Einstein’s or Starbucks, but just an 18oz Carmel frozen drink from Einstein’s is 640 calories! Try an iced coffee instead, which has 0 calories (before cream and sugar)
Don’t stress out!
Many people go completely into panic mode when they don’t see results right away. You need to remember that you won’t drop 10 pounds over night. Losing weight takes dedication, will power, and perseverance.
Don’t let your weight stress you out. Making healthy choices will help you drop pounds better than a fad diet will. Just eat right and exercise and you will start feeling better about yourself!