Burn fats before the holidays: 5 tips to get ready for Christmas

We often tend to think that, after a period of holidays and feasts, the time has finally come for our body to purify itself. And what if we put in place the opposite strategy? Burning fats before Christmas, to get prepared for the inevitable holiday feasts: this is the secret, according to the Australian dietician Susie Burrell, who explained her method to reduce fat before the holidays to The Sun newspaper.

Act early: how to cut fats before the holidays

According to the famous dietician, undergoing draining diets lasting months immediately after the holidays is not the best way to guarantee a balanced diet and at the same time lose weight. Often, taken by guilt, we force our body to extreme solutions, depriving it of fundamental nutrients and creating negative consequences. Without considering what a period of deprivation from desires entails for the mind: diets that are abandoned without having achieved any results other than the dramatic yo-yo effect. Susie Burrell advises instead to act in advance: to undergo a short "pre-purification" period of 3-5 days. "The human body does not need to be detoxified," the dietician explained, "normally the kidneys, liver and immune system do a great job of getting rid of the toxins taken daily." Moreover, diets with immediate results can push people to continue with that specific diet: on the contrary, tiring results that are slow to arrive discourage anyone who is subjected to a diet. "For this reason, following for a short period of time a diet in which natural whole foods are consumed with the aim of ‘cleaning up' daily food, helping us to lose a few pounds, is not a bad thing, but it can bring great results in terms of balance ".

Five tips to apply the preventive fat-burning method

To simplify the method, Susie Burrell has compiled a list of 5 tips-tricks that allow you to adopt a "cleansing" diet before the big binge of the Christmas holidays. Here is what they are.

1. Engage for a short period of time

First, the period of time: this diet should last from 3 to 5 days. In this period you can eat plenty of vegetables and fresh fruit: "After this period of time, the nutrients the body needs to function optimally, including protein, iron, zinc and calcium, should be reintegrated into the diet". Extreme diets that encourage fasting or elimination of food groups for a long time, the dietician explained, "are associated with a series of problems, including a reduced metabolic rate: for this reason they are not recommended for the vast majority of active and employed persons". For this reason, "engaging in dietary detoxification for a week or less, at a time when you have no social commitments and can concentrate 100% on nutrition is the key to success".

2. Consume fresh fruit and vegetables

No big secret behind this diet: just eat fresh, natural and unprocessed foods for 3-5 days. In a nutshell, fresh vegetables and fresh fruit: the heart of the Mediterranean diet together with cereals, possibly whole grains. "The simple fact of basing all meals on fresh fruits and vegetables, will allow the body to fill up with vitamins, minerals and fiber, helping you to eliminate excess liquids and helping you lose a pound or two without having to skip meals ".

3. Eliminate snacks

Eliminating snacks between one meal and another is already half the job: in this case there is no mention of fruit and vegetables, but of all those packaged foods rich in calories and toxins. "A stop to snacks also automatically eliminates a series of foods rich in carbohydrates, including crackers, muffins, coffee with milk, biscuits and bar snacks".

4. Drink only water

A couple of liters of water a day: this is the key to really cleanse, eliminating excess fluids and toxins. The fundamental rule of any healthy diet, water allows the body to deflate, even if it may seem at first exactly the opposite: unfortunately this is a consequence of bad eating habits. "Drink a couple of liters of water every day, along with strictly sugar-free herbal teas, instead of the usual caffeine-rich drinks and sugar-rich juices and smoothies: not only is it a simple way to significantly reduce your calorie intake "explains Burrell," focusing on optimal hydration, in fact, is an easy way to make the digestive system work efficiently".

5. Limit your eating hours

Modern life is hectic: this involves extending the "meal zone" well beyond the normal hours of light or darkness. It is then possible to have breakfast at 5.30 am and eat after 9 pm, especially in the Mediterranean countries. In fact, doing an evening and night fasting period is beneficial for the body: "The body is programmed to support a number of hours without food: the goal is to control the work of the hormones which in turn control the metabolism of fats in the body. Ideally, we need at least 10-12 hours without food, during the night hours, when our body goes in ‘stand by' ".