3 EASY tips for preventing holiday weight gain 🙌

Do these 3 little things, and you’ll feel better, less bloated, less stressed, lower your blood sugar and come out the other side a step ahead of the game when January rolls around. 💃🏼

1. ALWAYS move after you eat, especially dinner. Let your food settle for 10-15 mins, then make sure you go on a brisk walk, do active chores (like vacuuming), play with your kids/pet, hop on an exercise bike, whatever…ANY form of movement that engages the big, glucose-hungry muscles in your body in your legs and core/back. Recent science shows that somewhere between 20-30 mins is the sweet spot for bringing down that “post-prandial glucose spike” (rise in blood sugar that follows every meal, which will generally turn into fat if not put to use).
   
   At night, this becomes especially important, as we’re less insulin sensitive at night, which means that our blood sugar rises MUCH more in response to the same foods eaten during the day.
   
   Most people don’t realize this is a KEY part of why the Blue Zone / Mediterranean diet is so healthy and why people in those countries are not nearly as overweight in general: an integral part of the diet is the post-dinner walk with the whole family, every single night! If you’ve been to places like Sardinia, you’ll have seen this first hand… So try making it a family affair. You may be met with resistance at first, but you might be surprised - it can also make for wonderful connection time that the whole family values…an increasingly rare treat these days. Double win!
   

   Even if you can only manage 15 mins of movement, you’ll be doing your waistline and your health a BIG service.
   
   
   

2. Eat the protein (and/or fat) on your plate first to blunt blood sugar spikes after meals. This technique - known as “food order” or “food combining” - is practiced in ancient medicine, including Ayurveda, and recent science supports that it really works well to significantly lower blood sugar spikes after meals. LOVE when modern science backs ancient wisdom!
   
   Why does it work? Protein initiates insulin release, facilitating glucose uptake by cells. Fat slows down gastric (stomach) emptying, reducing the rate at which food exits the stomach into the small intestine. This process helps to distribute glucose absorption over a more extended period, preventing sharp spikes in blood sugar levels.
   
   So, you might consider eating an appetizer of foods like smoked salmon, sardines or avocado 10 - 30 minutes before a carb-heavy meal, helping you avoid the rapid spike and subsequent crash in blood glucose.
   
   
   

3. Drink a glass of water any time you feel hungry and before each meal. SO many of us don’t drink enough water through the day - probably about half the women I work with. It’s VERY common for us to confuse the body’s thirst signal for a hunger signal. Ensuring you always add electrolytes (ie. a pinch of high quality salt) to your morning glass of water also helps with hydration. Our modern water supply has been stripped of minerals, and many of us are deficient. (Most of us are clued into magnesium by now - but it is just 1 of MANY important minerals our bodies need to function well.)

I hope these easy little habits help you feel better and stay motivated through the holidays! 

Please share this with your family, friends and anyone who you think could benefit. Free help is always a good thing!

Happy holidays, friends! 🎄🤶❤️

If you want to go deeper and get my personal help to transform your health, balance your hormones, ignite your metabolism and lose weight the healthy, lasting way, check out my Better Beyond 40 Formula program - watch this video and book a free call so we can chat about what’s holding you back and come up with a winning plan for your success moving forward.