Read on to learn more about the three easy ways you can look and feel your best this holiday season.Tricky Shark – stock.adobe.com
Jingle bell rock solid.
As we edge closer to the holidays, a fitness coach says there are three steps you can take to look slim and snatched in time for Christmas.
Jenna Rizzo, a women’s weight loss coach from Georgia, took to TikTok to share her three tips for a pre-holiday glow-up.
“If you’re tired of always fighting for a certain side to look your smallest in pictures, sick of covering yourself up in frumpy fall clothes, listen up,” she said.
Hydrate to dominate
Rizzo advised anyone looking to beat back bloat and boost metabolism to prioritize hydration.
“Put that overpriced Stanley cup to use and start drinking water,” she urged viewers.
She explained that many people mistakenly believe water causes bloating: “It actually does the opposite. You can think of it as flushing out your system. Water is going to be the best way to de-bloat.”
In terms of weight loss, research shows that drinking water before or after meals can help fill you up, which could lead to a habit of smaller meals. Further, many people confuse thirst for hunger, and sipping water throughout the day can help maintain both hydration and feelings of satiety.
Downing eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day has been the age-old hydration rule, but hydration needs vary based on age, sex, activity level and climate, among other factors.
Rizzo recommends that everyone aiming to look good in their holiday outfits takes at least one ramble per day.
“These don’t have to be hourlong walks every day,” she said.
“You’d be surprised how just upping general movement throughout the day will really speed up weight loss. And it’s really good for your mental health, as well.”
The health benefits of a daily walk are well established: A constitutional reduces the risk of heart disease, lowers blood pressure and LDL (the “bad” cholesterol), reduces stress, boosts immunity and improves digestion.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week.
Achieving 10,000 steps — about 5 miles — has long been the daily gold standard, but studies have shown, as Rizzo suggested, that you can still experience benefits walking a lot less.
Experts suggest making your walking routine more challenging by moving to the tune of a fast-paced song, switching it up with intervals, incorporating strength training and taking hilly routes.
Banish booze
Rizzo identified herself as an “alcohol hater,” admitting that learning more about booze’s effects on the body has led her to cut it out completely.
Alcohol sabotages weight loss in two ways: It is exceptionally high in calories and it slows down the metabolism. Difficult though it may be, quitting or cutting back can assist with weight loss.
Rizzo said drinking “completely stops your body’s fat-burning processes. It activates your immune system and causes inflammation throughout your entire body.”
She credited this inflammation for the signature “puffy face” imbibers face after a night on the bottle.
