Losing Weight During The Holidays Workshop

Losing Weight During The Holidays --by Robyne Arrow "Ms. Flavors" Dear Friend, I am assuming your schedule is pretty hectic as you prepare for the upcoming holiday season. As a gift I'd like to share with you a few tried and true concepts on how to maintain or lose weight during this holiday season. I hope you enjoy the read.. the thought process.. and once again Happy Holidays. Here it goes... Thirteen years ago I became quite intrigued with the idea of LOSING WEIGHT DURING CELEBRATIONS. Even knowing the chance of finding success with this idea was highly slim I was nevertheless still intrigued. Please note, When I refer to, "LOSING WEIGHT DURING CELEBRATIONS" I am NOT referring to: 1) Avoiding family and friend get togethers, 2) Avoiding all other meals to splurge during just the one, 3) Limiting my meals to five pounds of plain MEAT and maybe a heaping bowl of lettuce. (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 celebration 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 celebration. 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 Theory *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 celebration, start deciphering what foods to REPLACE. ~What foods would I like to REPLACE? (TIP: The more creative you can be the better the results.)Write down the foods you'd like to replace: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ Ask Yourself These Questions When Deciphering What Foods To Replace the above foods with: ~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.) _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ ~What FOODS would I be willing to settle for? _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ 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: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ ~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: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ ~If you are new to the REL concept perhaps ELIMINATE just ONE of the heavy carb laded foods: rolls, potatoes, rice, noodles, breaded foods, etc. You may be thinking one food elimination is not enough. It can however, guarantee maintaining your weight through the holidays. ~What ONE Food would you like to ELIMINATE? Write it down: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ ~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: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ ~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 deli sandwiches so I can enjoy a larger piece of Mom's favorite Gooey Butter Cake? Or, I could probably (just maybe) LIMIT the dessert 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. What about you? ~Know what foods you want to LIMIT? Write them down. ~List of FOODS TO LIMIT: _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ ***Who knows. I was once told I think too much. Maybe that's the reason why REL works so well; Doing more thinking then eating---LOL ~CONCLUSION: I find that when we attend celebrations or social functions without a plan we, often more times than not, tend to find ourselves gaining weight. Even worse, end up with sugar highs that are hard to get rid of or control. This can be avoided and in many cases weight loss can be a reality DURING any celebration. 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 food table thinking maybe I'll REPLACE the green bean casserole 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 will surely put the weight on. I know there is a lot of information this time around-- but I really want you to feel comfortable and in control regardless the special occasion while managing your dieting regimen. This REL thought process is generally all that's 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. Yours in Health, Robyne Arrow "Ms. Flavors" Have questions regarding the REL Theory? Email your question to robyne@getinshapechallenge.com Please limit your email to one question. With the http://www.getinshapechallenge.com, you'll discover how easy it is to: * Learn how to create flavorful diet restricted meals, * Learn how to create low caloric, low fat, low carb meals, * Learn how to use everyday ingredients versus wayward, hard to find ingredients, * Learn how to read the new food labels, * Learn secrets to losing weight on low carb diets, * Learn about the new MEDIUM CARB DIET, * Learn how to entertain low carb guests, * Hone your low carb cooking skills, * Overcome the challenges to getting into shape, * Set realistic eating and healthy weight loss goals. * Plus much more Pass this on to a friend. Just make sure the whole article stays intact along with authors name and web site address. Who knows your friend may want to learn how to lose weight during the holiday season too. (c) copyright 2005 Robyne Arrow