I will always preach that balance is the key to success. With that being said, balance does not mean donuts every day. To me, balance simply means making more good choices than bad choices.

During holidays, get togethers, and special occasions I no longer overly focus on my calorie intake or my body image. I instead take this time to enjoy the food and drinks I love with family and friends. Then when I wake up the next morning I’m right on track with my normal routine.

You see, days of indulgence and freedom with food doesn’t mean you have to regret or try to over train to compensate. It just means that you have days of relaxation without as many rules.

Sometimes after the holiday season or a few too many girls’ nights you may find yourself a few pounds heavier. No need to fret! It is so easy to make changes just by tweaking a few things in your current diet!

Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years to help me get back on track when I’ve had a little too much fun!

First off, and I know this gets said all the time but is usually overlooked, is water. Water, water, water and more water. When you think you’ve drank enough drink more. Water is such a crucial component to fat loss for so many reasons.  Drinking water helps boost your metabolism, cleanse your body of waste, and acts as an appetite suppressant. Also, drinking more water helps your body stop retaining water, leading you to drop those extra pounds of water weight.

Second, cardio. DUN DUN DUN. The dreaded word that nobody likes to hear, but it’s not what you think. Cardio doesn’t have to be endless hours on the treadmill, it doesn’t even have to be running. For me, upping my cardio means only 20 minutes/4x a week on the stair stepper. ONLY 20 MINUTES can make a substantial difference!!!!!! So find the form on cardio you love (or the one you hate the least) and put in 20 minutes!

Keep track of your food! This can be a lot easier than you think. If you are a pen and paper person like me just carry around a little book and write down everything you eat. Each week you can go back and reflect on it to see if there are changes you can make that will help you better achieve your goals! ORRRR you can email them to me at lorellelifts@gmail.com and I will help you tweak them! MyFitnessPal is and app is also a great way to track you food and macros!

Short bursts of exercise in your spare time can also get you slimming down quick! Oh you have no spare time? What about the GOT season you binged on? Yeah, thought so! Every 20 minutes get up and do some HIIT for 2 minutes! Yes, only 2 minutes! This can make substantial differences in your body. Do it for each 2-minute break during a typical 2-hour TV night and you’ll burn an extra 270 calories a day—which can translate to a 28-pound weight loss in a year!

There are SO many more small changes you can make! But for now start with these and I will continue to make these blogs until I run out of ideas! If you gave any of this a try I would love to hear from you!

 

L