Fall is a great time of year, with warm wonderful days and cool crisp nights. It is a time of changing leaves, shortening days and lots of fun for people of all ages. The autumn season is also a time of holidays, from the fun of trick-or-treating at Halloween to the family feast that is Thanksgiving Day.
Unfortunately, the fall is also a time of weight gain for many people, men and women who then struggle to shed those extra pounds in time for spring. If you want to break that cycle once and for all, why not make this fall the year you change your life for the better. Revive Medical Center in Lawrenceville, GA, shares five effective ways to avoid weight gain this fall.
#1. Take Up a Fall Sport
Whether you play a game of pickup football in your backyard or join an indoor soccer league, autumn is the perfect time to take up a new sport. You do not have to be an expert player, or even a good one, to get some healthy exercise and have fun. All you need is a spirit of adventure and some extra time to enjoy your great new sport.
#2. Enjoy a Meatless Meal Twice a Week
In many other parts of the world, meat is considered almost a garnish, a tiny part of a much larger meal. If you want to avoid weight gain this fall, why not take a cue from those international eaters? Enjoying a meatless meal a couple times a week is a great way to shed those extra pounds, so you can go into the long winter healthier and happier.
#3. Substitute Healthier Ingredients in Your Favorite Holiday Recipes
You will be doing a lot of cooking this fall, but you do not have to use fat-laden and unhealthy ingredients. Substituting healthier ingredients for fattier ones is a great way to control your weight and live a better lifestyle. Try substituting plain yogurt for sour cream, add chicken stock instead of fatty gravy and swap out your white sugar for healthy organic honey. In no time at all, you will have a table full of great food, without the added fat and calories.
#4. Taste a Little Bit of Everything
The fall is a time of parties and gatherings, and many of those get-togethers involve food. You do not have to deprive yourself; just try a little bit of everything, taking tiny bites and checking out all those delicious treats. You can even go back for seconds on the foods you like; just use your own discretion.
#5. Emphasize Non-Food Related Events
From charity toy drives and holiday shopping to gift wrapping parties and crafts, there are plenty of things to do this time of year, and many of them do not involve food. By emphasizing those non-food events, you can make it through the fall without any weight gain, and maybe even shed a few pounds along the way.
The fall season does not have to be a time of weight gain and unhealthy eating habits. If you take a few preparatory steps and use your own common sense, you can enter the winter season at the same weight – or even a few pounds lighter.
