Get Your Diet Back on Track by Not Skipping Breakfast
Don't skip breakfast just because you have blown your diet on Thanksgiving. Start the day with a filling, low calorie breakfast. Eat a 150 calorie bowl of oatmeal or cereal and contains at least 4 grams dietary fiber per serving. Add skim milk and fruit for added fiber, so you'll feel fuller on fewer calories.
Get Your Diet Back on Track by Tracking Everything
Keep track of your eating and physical activity for the whole week after Thanksgiving. By the following weekend your diet will be back on track. A study on weight-loss found that the single best predictor of whether a participant lost weight was if the person kept a food diary.
Don't Make an Exercise Break a Habit
Everyone deserves a Thanksgiving exercise break, but don’t make this exercise break a habit. Infrequent or irregular workouts may be a contributing factor in why your scales have stopped dropping. Studies show that most people who take a break from exercising and start up again at lower intensity levels gain about as much weight as the pounds lost by people who upped their intensity.
Make Each Step Count Throughout the Day
Don't have time or money for a gym membership? Try keeping track of your calorie-burn with each step you take throughout your daily routine. A pedometer can be useful, motivational tool to increase your physical activity. If you set a daily or weekly goal, there's a natural tendency to gradually put more effort and energy into your walking.
Too Strict a Diet the Day after Thanksgiving
Too strict a diet on the day after Thanksgiving, or after a day of bingeing, can be as ineffective for weight loss success as overeating is on Thanksgiving itself. In a study published in 'Academic Psychiatry' in 2006, found dietary restrictions leads to a repetitive pattern of self-deprivation, which can result in bingeing, weight-gain and worsening self-image. Instead, use portion control. Eating a portion controlled balance diet is absolutely essential for losing weight.
Bottom Line on Post-Thanksgiving Diet Program
After Thanksgiving when starting your diet and weight loss program, don't measure success by stepping on the scale and expecting a magical 3 pound weight loss overnight. Start back into your weight loss program by making healthy food choices and portion control a habit. Then start your exercise program. Most studies show both diet and exercises are important for weight loss success. Remember, Thanksgiving is only one day, but a proper nutritional diet and exercise is for life.