The Christmas ornaments have been put away.
The leftover turkey is all gone.
But those extra pounds gained from indulging at holiday meals remains.
You had your cake, and ate it too - along with drinks, cookies and other Christmas treats.
Now that the balloons have dropped and the New Year is here, it's time to work on beating that holiday bulge.
Losing weight is not a mysterious process.
It doesn't have to involve extreme diets and miracle weight loss or fat removal treatments.
The secret to weight loss is making small changes in everyday life and slowly but surely, losing those extra pounds.
As in the story of the tortoise and hare, slow and steady wins the race.
Exercise alone won't make you lose weight if you take in more calories than you burn.
In order to lose one pound, you must burn about 3,500 calories above what you already burn during daily activities.
Confused? Here's how it works.
The first thing to do is to calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR).
This is the number of calories you burn when at rest.
Yes, this means you are burning calories when you sleep! Your BMR is dependent on your gender, height, weight and age and can be calculated online using a BMR calculator.
Next, figure out how many calories you burn when exercising and doing daily activities throughout the day.
You can do this by using a calorie calculator, also found online.
Third, keep track of how many calories you take in by using a food journal and writing everything down.
Here's an example: George's BMR is 1,500 calories and he burns 800 in daily activities.
To maintain his weight, he should be eating 2,300 calories a day.
Instead, he consumes 3,000 calories every day.
By eating 700 calories over what he burns daily, George will gain one pound every 5 days.
When you find yourself in George's shoes eating 700 calories over what you should be consuming, follow these steps to reduce caloric intake in a healthy way.
1.
Write down everything you eat in a typical day.
By writing down what you eat, you can figure out what you can cut out or substitute into your diet.
For example, substituting water for Coke in an afternoon lunch will save you 100 calories.
Cuts from your diet should include salad dressings, candy, butter and foods high in saturated fats.
2.
Find alternatives to unhealthy foods.
Fattening breakfasts consisting of bacon and eggs can be replaced with yogurt or oatmeal.
Beef or pork can be replaced with lean meats like chicken or fish.
3.
Eat healthy snacks.
Instead of reaching for that bag of greasy potato chips, pick up a pack of raisins or nuts.
4.
Plan your meals.
By creating a menu for the week you can be sure you are getting a balanced diet and are steering clear of fast food options for a quick meal.
5.
Exercise.
Burning calories is the key to losing weight.
Bottom line: If you're eating fewer calories than you're burning, you'll lose weight.
For those who exercise regularly and adhere to diet changes but can't seem to lose those unsightly pockets of fat, a treatment called lipodissolve exists.
Lipodissolve, also known as injection lipolysis, is a non-invasive, non-surgical treatment claiming to remove small volumes of fat through injections of a combination of drugs.
However, you should know that the drugs, most commonly phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate (PCDC), are not FDA approved.
In fact, the FDA has outright stated, "Consumers need to know that this is a buyer-beware situation.
These are unapproved drugs for unapproved uses.
" Outside the U.
S.
, the cosmetic use of lipodissolve has been banned in Brazil and Canada, and warned against in the UK.
There is no mystery to losing weight.
Take in fewer calories than you are burning and you will start to lose that holiday bulge.
For those who resort to other means of fat or weight loss, make sure you do your homework.
Don't fall into diets or cosmetic treatments that have not had sufficient scientific research to support their claims.
Start the New Year off right: by losing weight safely and healthily.
The leftover turkey is all gone.
But those extra pounds gained from indulging at holiday meals remains.
You had your cake, and ate it too - along with drinks, cookies and other Christmas treats.
Now that the balloons have dropped and the New Year is here, it's time to work on beating that holiday bulge.
Losing weight is not a mysterious process.
It doesn't have to involve extreme diets and miracle weight loss or fat removal treatments.
The secret to weight loss is making small changes in everyday life and slowly but surely, losing those extra pounds.
As in the story of the tortoise and hare, slow and steady wins the race.
Exercise alone won't make you lose weight if you take in more calories than you burn.
In order to lose one pound, you must burn about 3,500 calories above what you already burn during daily activities.
Confused? Here's how it works.
The first thing to do is to calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR).
This is the number of calories you burn when at rest.
Yes, this means you are burning calories when you sleep! Your BMR is dependent on your gender, height, weight and age and can be calculated online using a BMR calculator.
Next, figure out how many calories you burn when exercising and doing daily activities throughout the day.
You can do this by using a calorie calculator, also found online.
Third, keep track of how many calories you take in by using a food journal and writing everything down.
Here's an example: George's BMR is 1,500 calories and he burns 800 in daily activities.
To maintain his weight, he should be eating 2,300 calories a day.
Instead, he consumes 3,000 calories every day.
By eating 700 calories over what he burns daily, George will gain one pound every 5 days.
When you find yourself in George's shoes eating 700 calories over what you should be consuming, follow these steps to reduce caloric intake in a healthy way.
1.
Write down everything you eat in a typical day.
By writing down what you eat, you can figure out what you can cut out or substitute into your diet.
For example, substituting water for Coke in an afternoon lunch will save you 100 calories.
Cuts from your diet should include salad dressings, candy, butter and foods high in saturated fats.
2.
Find alternatives to unhealthy foods.
Fattening breakfasts consisting of bacon and eggs can be replaced with yogurt or oatmeal.
Beef or pork can be replaced with lean meats like chicken or fish.
3.
Eat healthy snacks.
Instead of reaching for that bag of greasy potato chips, pick up a pack of raisins or nuts.
4.
Plan your meals.
By creating a menu for the week you can be sure you are getting a balanced diet and are steering clear of fast food options for a quick meal.
5.
Exercise.
Burning calories is the key to losing weight.
Bottom line: If you're eating fewer calories than you're burning, you'll lose weight.
For those who exercise regularly and adhere to diet changes but can't seem to lose those unsightly pockets of fat, a treatment called lipodissolve exists.
Lipodissolve, also known as injection lipolysis, is a non-invasive, non-surgical treatment claiming to remove small volumes of fat through injections of a combination of drugs.
However, you should know that the drugs, most commonly phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate (PCDC), are not FDA approved.
In fact, the FDA has outright stated, "Consumers need to know that this is a buyer-beware situation.
These are unapproved drugs for unapproved uses.
" Outside the U.
S.
, the cosmetic use of lipodissolve has been banned in Brazil and Canada, and warned against in the UK.
There is no mystery to losing weight.
Take in fewer calories than you are burning and you will start to lose that holiday bulge.
For those who resort to other means of fat or weight loss, make sure you do your homework.
Don't fall into diets or cosmetic treatments that have not had sufficient scientific research to support their claims.
Start the New Year off right: by losing weight safely and healthily.
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