5 Things to Focus on Today Besides Food

For many, today is a day full of celebrations. And although a celebratory spread will no doubt be present, it’s important to remember what the holidays are really about. Regardless of what you celebrate, there are certain aspects of all holidays that you shouldn’t take for granted. Here are five things to focus on besides the food this holiday—and every one thereafter:

Loved Ones
How often do you get to have your distant cousins, your college-age niece and your brother’s new baby all in one room? The holidays have a way of bringing us all together and there’s something really special about that. Take a minute to bask in the beauty of your family. No amount of dessert can make you feel quite as good as they can.

Holiday Cheer
Ever notice how the world seems a little nicer this time of year? People are doing good deeds and budding you happy holidays. Even during your gatherings with family and friends, there is an air of good will. A year from now, you probably won’t remember what side dishes you enjoyed. But you probably will remember how magical your celebrations were. Focus on that fact and it will be easier to skip the seconds.

Making Merry
From playing board games to caroling to gift swapping galore, there are plenty of fun activities to engage in today that don’t involve chowing down on cheese and crackers or an extra helping of ham. Who needs to pig out when there’s festive fun to be had?

The Slower Pace
Sure, the holidays can mean a whole lot of hustle and bustle. But isn’t it nice to step away from the stress of jobs and school and daily routines? Taking a break from daily life is a nice break, even if you are running from house to house for holiday visits.

The Sights, Smells and Sounds
From the sparkling lights to the aromatic candles and pine needles to the festive music playing in the background, holiday celebrations are like a smorgasbord for your senses. Take it all in today; it’s there for you to enjoy!

The post 5 Things to Focus on Today Besides Food appeared first on The Leaf.

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Nutrisystem’s Holiday Playlist!

Our gift to you on this busy, beautiful day is a carefully curated holiday playlist of some of our favorite seasonal music. We start gently, slowly and build to a boisterous pitch, the same way any fine holiday celebration unwinds. Enjoy it, and happy holidays from all your friends here at The Leaf.

“Celebrate Me Home”—Kenny Loggins

“The Christmas Song”—Nat King Cole

“My Grown Up Christmas List”—Amy Grant

“White Christmas”—Bing Crosby

“Linus and Lucy”—Vince Guaraldi Trio

“Christmas at the Airport”—Nick Lowe

“Something About Christmas Time”—Bryan Adams

“Christmas Wrapping”—The Waitresses

“Christmas in Hollis”—Run-DMC

“All I Want For Christmas is You”—Mariah Carey

“Santa Clause is Comin’ to Town”—Bruce Springsteen

“Run Run Rudolph”—Chuck Berry

What are your favorite holiday tunes? Share in the comments section below!

The post Nutrisystem’s Holiday Playlist! appeared first on The Leaf.

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Feeling a lot "bigger" 3 weeks later..

So I'm not actively trying to lose weight right now as I'm travelling but I have been exercising while travelling...except for about the last 2 weeks.

3 weeks ago I was looking at my body and I actually thought I was looking pretty good. I've been on a very weird "trying to lose weight" cycle for around 7 years now, trying multiple things. There was a period where I lost about 25 kg which was great. I've now actually put on 10kg (6kg before travelling, and 4 since I left home ... However, I've been doing bodyweight lifts which I don't usually do so could be a bit of muscle)

As mentioned, the last 3 weeks I haven't actually worked out much (about 3 or 4 in about 3 weeks, but I feel so much fatter now than I did. Like I look at myself and I just feel disgusted. I feel as though I've put on the whole 25 kg again and I'm back to where I started. It is giving me a bit of a health kick and I'm planning to really go at it again when I return home in a few weeks time, I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this? In a few weeks they just lose their self esteem and when looking in the mirror they feel so much worse ?

Let me know please. I hope this discussion is ok mods, long time lurker, first time poster. I want to start posting updates for my weight loss in 2019 as I feel that may keep me motivated. Is this ok?

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Starting my new years resolution early.

I know that going straight to "hit the gym every day, eat only healthy stuff" etc... only leads you to burn out quicker. So, this will be my new years resolution.

Phase out soft drinks, drink more water. I just poured out the 1.25L of vanilla coke I had in my fridge, right now I'm 116-118kg (255-280lbs)

My plan is this.

Right now, no soft drink in the house, to discourage myself if I want soft drink, I have to walk 4 blocks to the shop for it.

Only do online shopping. This way I dont drop my guard and stop by the soft drinks isle at the supermarket. I buy it online, I pick it up in the store at the counter, go home.

To prevent burnout, till say, may next year, i can drink soft drink if i get takeaway which will hereby be limited to one meal on Sunday. After that, i cut it out.

Soft drinks and bad food work in tandem, salty food makes you crave something sweet, in other words, soft drinks, which make you crave salty food. And so the cycle continues. I'm hoping to break that chain.

I already do Karate and work a decently physically demanding job, and I tend to walk a lot of places so i feel exercise will only improve with weight loss.

I've been addicted to this sugary syrupy SHIT since I was a child! I'm 26, obese and fucking miserable. I want it to change. I dont like living like this! Alone constantly, hating to see reflections of myself, finding it impossible to find anything that fits well and looks good. The feeling of "self confidence" is totally alien to me.

I do have a goal... have you ever seen the "knight hoodie"? Well. I wanna be able to get one of them, and wear it. In public. Yes i know I'll be making an ass of myself thin or fat, but i wanna do it and not be a giant obese fuck while doing it.

Wish me luck.

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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2rV7CIq

Day 1? Starting your weight loss journey on Tuesday, 25 December 2018? Start here!

Today is your Day 1?

Welcome to r/Loseit!

So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.

Why you’re overweight

Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.

Before You Start

The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.

Tracking

Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends an app like MyFitnessPal, Loseit! (unaffiliated), or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.

Creating Your Deficit

How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.

The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.

Exercise

Is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.

It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel awesome and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.

Crawl, Walk, Run

It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.

Acceptance

You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.

Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.

Additional resources

Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.

• Quick Start Guide - Build your foundation!
• Loseit Compendium - Frame it out!
• FAQ - Answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions!

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M/19/6'0 220 lbs to 166 lbs in a year. This is my journey

Hey guys, I've been lurking in this sub for quite a while now and I really appreciate the support that is provided by this community. I've been on my path of weight loss since January this year. I graduated in 2017 and began working on Canadian pipelines soon after.

I was eating a huge amount everyday because there wasn't a whole lot else to look forward to after work. When I quit in January this year, I weighed 220 lbs and my self-esteem was quite low. I decided to get it under control by using a 18/6 diet plan. My goal was to hit 165 lbs and less than 14% BF. I would only eat between noon and 6pm and hydrate through the rest of the day to reach this goal. I saw immediate results and lost about 20 lbs in 2 months.

At the time, I was also applying for college and upgrading some high school cores. I decided 200 lbs was a good place to leave off for a few months while I figured out what I was going to do with my life. I got accepted to a University in BC, so I moved out of Alberta and got a job for the summer until I started class. I realized how beautiful the location was and how I still wasn't satisfied enough to go to the beach or really enjoy myself publicly. I knew I needed to slim down by continuing my diet plan and getting some activity.

I joined a Jiu Jitsu class, which is excellent for cardio workout. Wrestling for an hour in 5 minute increments gets the sweat pouring. I began to feel more in shape and better about myself in general, but I stopped weighing myself because I was getting to wrapped up in the numbers. Then at the end of October, I weighed in for a tournament at 185 lbs. I was ecstatic that I was making some real progress as I had hit a plateau for a while at 190. At this time, I was also living in a dorm and buying my own groceries, usually consisting of tons of vegetables and fruits.

I got injured by a monstrous human in the tournament and ripped soft tissue in my elbow. I was out for 3 weeks and decided to run a few nights a week. The first jog I went for I managed to get 3.5 miles in without stopping or slowing down, even fitting in sprints between street lights. I was thrilled with the fact that I could run like that without feeling overly exhausted. I was starting to feel really good about myself. Again, I refrained from weighing myself. At the end of November, I was cleared by my doctor to continue Jiu Jitsu and return to full duties at work. I stuck to my diet and continued to work out.

Then this month it all came together. I had successfully completed my first semester of University with quite satisfactory grades, and I was ready to come home for Christmas. I had no idea what was waiting for me when I got home. I landed back in Alberta on the 19th, and just for shits and giggles I decided to step on the scale and see how I was doing weight wise. I got on the scale and it read 166 lbs. I was in total disbelief, to the point of accusing the scale of being broken. That night, I went to the local gym and sure enough, the scale there said the same.

I have reached my goal and have absolutely no idea how long I've even been there. I am so proud of myself, it's been almost 5 years since I've been under 170 lbs. I took my measurements and calculated 13% BF. I felt so good, and when I looked in the mirror I felt even better. I hadn't even noticed how much better I looked. When my parents picked me up from the airport, my grandfather drove past me because he couldn't even recognize me. Honestly, I don't think I could have given myself a better Christmas present. All my old shirts fit like garbage bags. My old jeans look like parachute pants or something. I bought some new pairs that fit me awesomely and they make me feel good about myself. I have so much excess fabric on my belt now and I love it. I've been getting comments about how much I've slimmed down and I love it even more. My self-esteem is finally at an appropriate level.

This boxing day I will be hitting up the mall to get some new shirts that properly fit me. I'm beyond excited to go back to school in my new clothes and chat up some cuties. Now my plan is to pick up protein powder and bulk back up to 200 lbs. I want to say thanks to this community for giving me perspective and insight. I want to thank my family for encouraging me and making me feel good about my weight loss. I also want to thank myself for finally doing what I need to and taking care of my body. My life is a whole lot more comfortable now.

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Tantrum Tuesday - The Day to Rant!

I Rant, Therefore I Am

Well bla-de-da-da! What's making your blood boil? What's under your skin? What's making you see red? What's up in your craw? Let's hear your weight loss related rants!
The rant post is a /u/bladedada production.

Please consider saving your next rant for this weekly thread every Tuesday.

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