The 4-Day Fix For Holiday Binge

After treating yourself with cookies, cocktails, more parties, etc..., maybe you should start shaping up if you have overindulged. Who says gluttony requires a month of penance? All you need is 4 days to get back on track.

1. Eat early, eat often. - Be sure to eat breakfast within one hour of waking. If you wait until you're at your desk, you're more likely to overeat. It's okay to keep feeding right up until you go to bed, and the goal is to be eating consistently.
2. Take a Sabbatical from sugar and salt. - Sweets and alcohol often make you crave more sugar putting your self-control useless. Sodium such as salt also prompts your body to retain water. Put away the salt shaker, and avoid the lunch time deli run as well. Avoid pickles, sliced meats, and split-pea soup which all are known to pump you full of water.
3. Don't overdo the juice fast. - Liquids can help you feel lighter in the short term, but maintain them for any longer than 3 days, and you're setting yourself up for nutrient deficiencies, fatigue and failure.
4. Give up the shredded wheat. - Wheat-based starches found in your breakfast cereals are culprits. many think whole wheat is good for them as they move toward a better diet. The fact is, it triggers appetite and water retention and also contributes to gaining weight around the gut. Instead, try oats or grains like quinoa or millet. Or other options from getting carbs are from veggies like yams, squashes and pumpkins.
5. Get some artichokes. - They can fill you up and they are delicious and yet low-calorie. Plus, it takes a while to eat.