How to Lose Weight after the Holidays

It's a familiar scene in millions of households: Christmas has come and gone and New Year's Eve is now but a distant memory, but the weight that has been gained during the holiday season remains.

According to Hispanic News Online, there are several key points that people tend to disregard while trying to lose weight, which cause them to either not lose any weight or give up altogether.

First is the myth that losing weight equals looking better. Most people who are trying to lose weight have it in their minds that once they lose the weight, they will end up looking much better.

Having this as a sole motivation is something that will cause a person to eventually fail in his efforts. It must be said that losing weight isn't always easy, and that part of losing weight is making sure that it is done in a healthy way, through proper diet and exercise.

Reader's Digest reports that sticking to a proper exercise regimen is the next step that people must take in order to keep losing those extra pounds.

Reader's Digest also reports that after the holiday season is always the busiest time for gyms and exercise programs like crossfit because everyone wants to lose those holiday pounds. However, it should be noted that almost 80 percent of these people no longer go to the gym or exercise less than three months later.

Why is that? Mainly because of motivation and realistic goals, which is the next point on this list. People usually tell themselves for New Year's resolutions that they will lose 30 pounds this year. Which in their minds may not be large number, but it may be harder than originally thought.

After a few weeks of little or no weight gain, people tend to become disillusioned and quit exercising and return to their normal routine.

Setting a goal of perhaps 5 pounds in the first month is something more realistic and healthy, and after reaching that goal, people will stay motivated to lose even more weight in the succeeding months.

Lastly, the best way to lose weight after the holidays is finding the diet that is best for you. Getting used to not eating that piece of pizza for lunch or having those large fries with a burger---these are all things that one can drop out of their diet to slowly lose the weight.

Once something unhealthy is taken out, try and put something more healthy to replace it. Instead of potato chips for an afternoon snack, try some fruit like apples or oranges. Something like celery with some peanut butter is always something tasty yet healthy.

In the end, it really takes some mental toughness and determination to lose those holiday pounds and keep them off.