By now, I am assuming your schedule is pretty hectic in
preparation for the Holiday Festivities.
So its only inevitable that I ask of you to take a few
moments to ponder on how you will handle the vast
amounts of food involved with this holiday season.
And to remind you not to forget about your personal
health, goals and the purpose behind them.
As a gift I would like to share with you a few tried
and true concepts on how to maintain or lose weight
during this holiday season.
Thirteen years ago I became quite intrigued with the
idea of LOSING WEIGHT DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON. Even
knowing the chances of finding success with this idea
was highly slim I was nevertheless still intrigued.
Please note, When I refer to, "LOSING WEIGHT DURING THE
HOLIDAY SEASON" I am NOT referring to:
1) Avoiding family and friend get togethers,
2) Avoiding all other meals to splurge during just the
one dinner,
3) Limiting my meals to five pounds of plain turkey and
maybe a heaping tablespoon of mash potatoes or
stuffing. (Not trying to be sarcastic--just being
truthful),
4) Taking supplements or DIET pills of any kind.
*Here's How I Found Success...
In the beginning, thirteen years ago, I simply began
deciphering which foods I was going to eat for the
holidays versus the foods I really needed to stay away
from, like those scrumptious tasting butter rolls
served at the beginning of dinner.
RESULTS: Weight loss didn't take place the first year.
But I didn't gain weight either. What I really enjoyed
was this preplanning approach especially the greater
sense of feeling and being in control so I continued my
efforts and after many years of enhancing this concept
I created what's known as the Replace, Eliminate, Limit
(REL) Theory.
REL
*The REL Starts With REPLACING Foods. It Works Like
This:
After making a mental note of the specific foods that
may be available at the dinner table, start deciphering
what foods to REPLACE and what foods to REPLACE them
with.
Ask Yourself These Questions When Deciphering What
Foods To Replace With What
~What foods can provide me with the same fullness yet
without all the carbs? (TIP: The more creative you can
be the better the results.)
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~What FOODS would I be willing to settle for?
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EXAMPLE:
~Would I be willing to REPLACE the potato salad (major
carbs) with regular salad (low in carbs) --maybe I
could put more croutons on my salad... more cheese...
maybe even splurge with some good ole Ranch or honey
french dressing on the top.
~Write a list of FOODS you would like to REPLACE:
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~After deciphering which foods to REPLACE, begin
asking:
~Which foods should I ELIMINATE? Certainly there must
be ONE food TO ELIMINATE, Just for control purposes, if
anything else.
~What Foods Would You Like to Potentially ELIMINATE?
Write them Down:
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~If you are new to the REL concept perhaps ELIMINATE
just ONE of the heavy carb ladened foods: rolls,
potatoes, rice, noodles, breaded foods, etc.
~What ONE Food would you like to ELIMINATE? Write it
down:
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~If you are a die hard REL user and/or want an awesome
challenge then ELIMINATE ALL desserts and replace with
fruits. OR perhaps ELIMINATE just one or two types of
desserts; pumpkin pie, fruit pies, chocolate cakes, nut
pies (Pecan), etc. It's your choice.
NOTE: You can make your own rules too. For instance you
may want to ELIMINATE all fruit pies and instead limit
your desserts to sugar free fruit pies. Its' your
choice.
~If you're feeling challenged and want to consider
ELIMINATING more than one food item what would those
food items be? Write them down:
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~And lastly, foods to LIMIT.
~When it comes to LIMITING foods simply acknowledge
those foods that quickly fill you up more than others.
For Instance:
I am going to LIMIT the stuffing so I can enjoy more of
Mom's favorite Gooey Butter Cake?
Or, I could probably (just maybe) LIMIT the cream peas
and fill up on some of the scrumptious salad.
Or I could choose to LIMIT both stuffing and sweet
potatoes so I could have both versus splurging on just
the one.
~Know what foods you want to LIMIT? Write them down.
~List of FOODS TO LIMIT:
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***Who know's. I was once told I think too much. Maybe
thats the reason why REL works so well;
Doing more thinking then eating---LOL
~CONCLUSION:
I find that when we walk into the holidays blindly or
should I say without a plan we tend to find ourselves
gaining weight. Even worse caught up on the sugar high.
This can be avoided and in many cases weight loss can
be a reality DURING THE HOLIDAYS. So the first goal is
to have an REL PLAN.
Use the REL theory if you like--it's pretty fun
actually. You may even find yourself looking at the
dinner table thinking maybe I'll REPLACE the green bean
casserolle with the stuffing. No maybe I'll ELIMINATE
the potatoes all together and instead treat myself to a
small LIMITED piece of the scrumptious hot pecan pie.
THE REL Theory has been taken from the highly popular
book---The Medium Carb Diet.
QUESTION:
Have you ever thought as to wonder why the REL works so
well?
ANSWER:
All to often, we only need a one second distraction to
prevent us from acting on those last minute, "sound
good" ideas.
Sure EVERYTHING looks good on the dinner table but if
we have a focus... a plan... we tend not to reach for
just anything and/or everything NOR splurge on those
foods that are surely to put the weight on.
I know there is a lot of information this time around--
but I really want you to feel comfortable and complete
this holiday season while managing your low carb
regimen.
This REL thought process is generally all thats needed
to prevent one from reaching out for all the fattening
stuff.
RESULTS: REL has helped thousands of people succeed not
just through the holiday seasons but every day of the
year. Try just one of the ideas and I assure you'll
feel more in control and happier with self as you look
at the up and coming New Year.
Robyne Arrow
mailto:robyne@cookingwithflavors.com
http://www.cookingwithflavors.com
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