Losing Weight During The Holiday Season--Can It Be Done?

Thirteen years ago I became quite intrigued with theidea of LOSING WEIGHT DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON. Evenknowing the chances of finding success with this ideawas highly slim I was nevertheless still intrigued.

Please note, When I refer to, "LOSING WEIGHT DURING THEHOLIDAY SEASON" I am NOT referring to:

1) Avoiding family and friend get togethers,

2) Avoiding all other meals to splurge during just theone dinner,

3) Limiting my meals to five pounds of plain turkey andmaybe a heaping tablespoon of mash potatoes orstuffing. (Not trying to be sarcastic--just beingtruthful),

4) Taking supplements or DIET pills of any kind.

*Here's How I Found Success...

In the beginning, thirteen years ago, I simply begandeciphering which foods I was going to eat for theholidays versus the foods I really needed to stay awayfrom, like those scrumptious tasting butter rollsserved 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 enjoyedwas this preplanning approach especially the greatersense of feeling and being in control so I continued myefforts and after many years of enhancing this conceptI 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 thatmay be available at the dinner table, start decipheringwhat foods to REPLACE and what foods to REPLACE themwith.

Ask Yourself These Questions When Deciphering WhatFoods To Replace With What

~What foods can provide me with the same fullness yetwithout all the carbs? (TIP: The more creative you canbe 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 (majorcarbs) with regular salad (low in carbs) --maybe Icould put more croutons on my salad... more cheese...maybe even splurge with some good ole Ranch or honeyfrench dressing on the top.

~Write a list of FOODS you would like to REPLACE:

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~After deciphering which foods to REPLACE, beginasking:

~Which foods should I ELIMINATE? Certainly there mustbe ONE food TO ELIMINATE, Just for control purposes, ifanything 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 ELIMINATEjust ONE of the heavy carb ladened foods: rolls,potatoes, rice, noodles, breaded foods, etc.

~What ONE Food would you like to ELIMINATE? Write itdown:

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~If you are a die hard REL user and/or want an awesomechallenge then ELIMINATE ALL desserts and replace withfruits. OR perhaps ELIMINATE just one or two types ofdesserts; pumpkin pie, fruit pies, chocolate cakes, nutpies (Pecan), etc. It's your choice.

NOTE: You can make your own rules too. For instance youmay want to ELIMINATE all fruit pies and instead limityour desserts to sugar free fruit pies. Its' yourchoice.

~If you're feeling challenged and want to considerELIMINATING more than one food item what would thosefood items be? Write them down:

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~And lastly, foods to LIMIT.

~When it comes to LIMITING foods simply acknowledgethose foods that quickly fill you up more than others.

For Instance:

I am going to LIMIT the stuffing so I can enjoy more ofMom's favorite Gooey Butter Cake?

Or, I could probably (just maybe) LIMIT the cream peasand fill up on some of the scrumptious salad.

Or I could choose to LIMIT both stuffing and sweetpotatoes so I could have both versus splurging on justthe 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. Maybethats the reason why REL works so well;

Doing more thinking then eating---LOL

~CONCLUSION:

I find that when we walk into the holidays blindly orshould I say without a plan we tend to find ourselvesgaining weight. Even worse caught up on the sugar high.This can be avoided and in many cases weight loss canbe a reality DURING THE HOLIDAYS. So the first goal isto have an REL PLAN.

Use the REL theory if you like--it's pretty funactually. You may even find yourself looking at thedinner table thinking maybe I'll REPLACE the green beancasserolle with the stuffing. No maybe I'll ELIMINATEthe potatoes all together and instead treat myself to asmall LIMITED piece of the scrumptious hot pecan pie.

THE REL Theory has been taken from the highly popularbook---The Medium Carb Diet.

QUESTION:

Have you ever thought as to wonder why the REL works sowell?

ANSWER:

All to often, we only need a one second distraction toprevent us from acting on those last minute, "soundgood" ideas.

Sure EVERYTHING looks good on the dinner table but ifwe have a focus... a plan... we tend not to reach forjust anything and/or everything NOR splurge on thosefoods 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 completethis holiday season while managing your low carbregimen.

This REL thought process is generally all thats neededto prevent one from reaching out for all the fatteningstuff.

RESULTS: REL has helped thousands of people succeed notjust through the holiday seasons but every day of theyear. Try just one of the ideas and I assure you'llfeel more in control and happier with self as you lookat the up and coming New Year.

If you find this information valuable, please pass it on toa friend.

With www.cookingwithflavors.com, you'll discover how easy it is to:

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*Learn secrets to losing weight on low carb diets,

*Learn about the new MEDIUM CARB DIET,

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*Set realistic eating and healthy weight loss goals.

About the Author:

Robyne Arrow, a successful 23 year veteran of the Low Carblifestyle is the author of eight books including "CookingLow Carb with Flavor" and the popular "Medium Carb Diet."She has helped thousands of individuals overcome the manyhurdles to low carb lifestyles.

Visit her site to find out how you can get a freesubscription to her e-zine, "Move Over Mr. Cheat, Ms. Flavors Moving In..." at http://www.cookingwithflavors.comor mailto:ezine@cookingwithflavors.com