Common Sense - key to post-Christmas weight loss

Common Sense - the key to post-Christmas weight loss

At this time of the year the air is ripe with fresh New Year’s resolutions - many of which involve recovering from the excesses of the holiday season, including excess calories!

But rather than taking up the newest fad diet, the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation suggests the following 5 common sense tips to get back on track, and trim down for a great 2009:

1. As the Christmas goodies dwindle, replace them with the delicious seasonal fruit and vegetables available at this time of the year. Snack on fruit and aim to cover about half your plate with salad or veggies at meal times.

2. Fruit can also replace those calorie-laden Christmas desserts, teamed up with the diet versions of your favourite drinks, yoghurt or ice cream. These are low in fat and those containing sweeteners, such as aspartame, can help increase weight loss and maintain it for longer.

3. If you love your daily latte or flat white - get into the habit of asking for trim milk instead of regular. You’ll save 265 kilojoules (kJ) per coffee (that’s 96,700 kJ in a year!), without losing out on the valuable calcium all milk contains.

4. Enjoy family meals together. At this more relaxed time of year many of us are able to spend a bit longer in the kitchen preparing meals and sitting down to eat as a family. Research shows families who eat together are less likely to be overweight.

5. Take advantage of the summer weather to get out and get moving. The longer days are a great excuse for a walk morning or evening - or both. Depending how fast you walk, how heavy you are and how many hills you encounter, an average 30 minute walk burns up about 550kJ. That adds up to about 200,000kJ per year!

ENDS

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