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Suffering from Holiday Diet Fatigue? Pump up the Volume!

This might be a good time to take a step back and review what’s been happening the past few weeks. So far, you’ve survived Halloween, Thanksgiving, holiday parties, Hanukkah (for some), and Christmas (for others).

 



Whew! You might even say you’ve graduated pumpkin cum latke.

But, we’re not quite done yet. The New Year’s weekend is coming fast, and this year that means a Saturday through Monday long weekend with parties, football on TV, and food-food-food.

No matter whether you’re in Phase 1 or Phase 2, it’s easy to let holiday foods start to slip in. It's easy to tell yourself "It's OK, I'll do better come January”. Not only that, but some of the important basics of losing weight/keeping weight off may have begun to disappear from you daily routine.

Which basics? Well, the one that may make the biggest difference is high volume shakes. There is nothing more filling or low-calorie than a shake made in a blender with lots of ice. And here’s the important part: when you are full, resisting higher calorie foods gets easier.

So here’s the challenge. Make the last few days of 2011 as successful as possible:

Increase your high volume shake intake by a least 1 every day until Tuesday, January 3, 2012.

Again, a high volume shake is one made in a blender with 6+ fluid oz. water (or other non-caloric fluid), and 4-6 ice cubes. Adding fruit is fine in Healthy Solutions and Phase 2.

Here are some recipes to get you started. Please share your favorite high volume shake recipes, as well.

Decision-Free, Healthy Solutions, and Phase 2 Recipes:
Candy Cane Shake
Mocha Twist
Vanilla Scotch
Chocolate Cheesecake Shake
HMR Frappuccino

Healthy Solutions & Phase 2 recipes:
Black Forest Smoothie
HMR Chocolate Chunkie Monkie
A Tasty Surprise
Blueberry Cheesecake Shake

Getting support, sharing ideas, and hearing from others can be critical, especially during this challenging time. We have a very active, supportive online community that does just that. If you are looking to make a public commitment to stay “in the box,” have ideas or recipes to share, or would like ideas from others about challenging situations, please join us here:

Phase 1: http://www.hmrdiet.com/Succeed/Forum/Topic/726
Phase 2: http://www.hmrdiet.com/Succeed/Forum/Topic/727

We would love to hear from you, no matter what day it is.

Here’s to a Happy and Healthy New Year!
 

 

 

by KeithVanGasken on 12/28/2011 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, Recipes, Diet Tools, motivation, in the box, planning, mood, strategies, nutrition, holidays

About the Author

Keith Van Gasken

Keith Van Gasken began obesity treatment in a clinic setting in 1982, and has been with HMR since 1992. Roles have included health educator & mentor, as well as program and product development, with a special affinity for product & recipe development. He has maintained a 100-lb. weight loss since 1982.

Comments (3) Post a comment
As usual, great ideas - definitely helped me to make it through the New Years without the usual weight gain.
by ivandrago on 01/05/2012
The tasty surprise is the one that is calling my name. never tried something like that one before. Also, I JUST tried the candy cane shake for the first time last week and loved it! So true, high volume shakes this time of year is definitely the way to go, so incredibly filling...
by jennyb on 12/29/2011
Great idea Keith! By this time of year I'm very tired of all the high-fat foods and I'm looking for early New Years resolutions behaviors to put in place. Like the idea of high-volume shakes! I've had a lot of success recently with using the shakes with all the DaVinci syrup flavors! My favorites at the moment are: Kahlua and English Toffee--mixed together in one shake. The shakes have worked great to crowd out holiday foods and satisfy my sweet tooth.
by DesireeRogers on 12/28/2011