weight lose
Do you want to use the holidays to do something good for your body instead of starting the new year with a guilty conscience? Then try our 6 nutrition tips!
Did you know that you need to save around 21,000 calories to lose 3 pounds of body fat? One kilo of body fat stores around 7,000 kcal of energy. In order not to find the extra holiday snacks on your hips, you have to create a negative energy balance, i.e. a calorie deficit. To put it simply: you have to burn more energy than you consume. So if you want to lose 3 kilograms of body fat in a month, you have to consume about 21,000 kcal more than you eat.
We’ll break the whole thing down again for you.
How to Create a Calorie Deficit
Let’s take an example:
If you eat an average of 2,000 calories a day and use 2,500 (including training, exercise, digestion, etc.), the calculation is relatively simple:
Calorie intake: 2,000
Calorie consumption: 2,500
Calorie deficit: 500 per day
Over the course of a week, you will save around 3,500 calories if you stick to your eating plan. In theory, you need about 2 weeks to lose 1 kilo of body fat (= 7,000 kcal). So for your goal to lose 3 pounds of fat, you need about 6 weeks.
Important: Of course, the human body cannot be calculated at 100%. Hormonal fluctuations, your individual metabolism, muscle glycogen, water retention, salt consumption, and many other factors obscure the actual weight loss in some cases immensely. However, you can always use the values calculated above as a good guide.
This is how you save calories without actively counting them
The last thing we want at Gymondo is to turn you into a calorie-counting robot that only works by data and thus loses the fun of the sport. Particularly large cuts in calorie intake quickly lead to a slowdown in metabolism and a decrease in the production of important hormones, which in turn negatively affects your weight loss.
So avoid too big a deficit. Especially during the holiday season, when every corner smells of biscuits and cakes, you usually just torture yourself. That’s why we have collected 6 tips for you through which you can lose weight healthily even over the holidays without major cuts.
# 1 Skip the little sins
Even if you only save 100 calories a day by skipping the glass of wine after dinner or the small candy in between, you can benefit in the long term. If you only save 100 kcal a day for a month like this, that makes a whole 3,000 kcal after 30 days. And that’s almost a pound of body fat! By using the healthier option for many foods, you can also save calories – why not try chicken breast instead of chicken wings! Small incisions that you hardly consciously restrict can make a big difference in the long run.
# 2 Increase the frequency and intensity of your workouts
To burn extra calories, you can increase the frequency and intensity of your workouts. Even an extra workout per week can be depending on the intensity, create an additional calorie deficit of a few hundred calories. A few extra sit-ups or a few minutes of cardio after your workout can also pay off in the long term.
# 3 Focus on the things that you can control
Once you get weak and indulge in your candy cravings, don’t punish yourself for it. Instead, try to focus on factors that are easier to control. Get up, adjust the crown, carry on! Use the extra energy, for example, to rock your next workout.
# 4 Eat a balanced diet
As difficult as it may be over the holidays not to cover your daily calorie requirement with sweets only – be strong! Almost all typical snacks are bursting with sugar and fat and quickly collect on your hips. Instead, try to eat a balanced diet. You can use our plate rules to help you do this and follow the balanced plate.
Our handy rules of thumb:
Your curved palm is the size of a serving of carbohydrates on your plate (choose complex carbohydrates like brown rice, sweet potatoes, or whole wheat pasta).
Your fist is the size of a serving of vegetables on your plate.
The palm of your hand is the size of a serving of protein on your plate (tofu, tempeh, chicken, turkey, beef, fish).
Your thumb is the size of a portion of fat (olive oil, avocado, nuts, hummus).
Try it! Grab a plate and divide it into 4 sections.
You fill a quarter with low-fat sources of protein. Two quarters should be vegetables. You fill the last quarter with complex carbohydrates and/or vegetables, depending on your taste. Add a small number of healthy fats and you have the perfect meal!
# 5 Exercise regularly
You shouldn’t skip your training even during the holidays. After all, we do our best so that you can fit your daily workout into your daily routine. Try to be consistent even when you don’t feel like exercising. You will feel great after your workout! Use our motivation tips to get excited about your workouts even on cozy winter days.
# 6 Use smaller plates
Especially on your non-training days, you should be careful not to break your calorie balance. If you are consuming fewer calories, then you should also reduce the number of calories ingested. You shouldn’t go hungry for this but choose your food smartly. For example, you can reduce your portion sizes. Trick 17: take a smaller plate! Believe it or not, this trick actually works to effectively conserve calories.
The bottom line
Use our tips and tricks to start the new year healthy, happy, and full of energy from the holidays. Eat a balanced diet and do not neglect your daily exercise. And yes, be sure to treat yourself to Mutti’s piece of cake! But never forget: in moderation instead of in mass. So you can continue working on your fitness goals over the Christmas period without stress and without major restrictions.
