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It’s “that” time of the year again when you need a winter weight loss guide.

When you catch glimpses in the mirror… first a quick glance at the reflection in your bedroom, then at every single mirror you catch, so you can start getting a general idea of the price you are paying after winter.

You might have been caught unready, by an unorganized and mentally unprepared visit to a clothes store and now you’ve ended up in the dressing room, almost naked, with the crude reality in front of you: all those winter months are making you pay a price…

What have you been hiding?

Until now, you were just unaware or unaccepting of the problem which you have been hiding under black pants and bulky clothing during the long winter. In which the everyday comforting breakfast you’ve been indulging in and the extra glass of wine with friends and loved ones really made a difference. When cold, rain and long dark days where better confronted with maybe too much sweet chocolate. 

And it is OK! It is true, winter is long, and can be hard. Some pampering may help us get through it. But spring is almost here and it is time to face it, look at yourself directly in the mirror (no more glimpses), and accept the reality. It’s time to make the commitment to work on how to fix what you want to fix.

Or you may never be brave enough to have a sincere and complete view of yourself, which is also OK,  but deep inside, even without the real view on the mirror, you know…

That’s it! There is nothing else you can do! If you keep hiding under your clothing not facing the reality, you’ll be caught with your tighter, revealing clothes ready to go and you’ll panic! Or worse! You’ll be about to leave for the weekend or go on vacation with almost nothing to wear, not wanting to show the results of a long winter on your body.

You may not have that many pounds to lose, it might be that you just need to regain firmness. Whatever it is, a big or small issue that it is important for you, you have to start fixing it right now!

This is not like waxing, shaving, doing a skin peeling or a pedicure. Getting your body back in shape may take months and even if you work hard and take a faster approach, it will at least take a few weeks until you truly see results that last, and stay with you in the long run.   

Why the extra weight?

There may be a biological explanation for why most of us tend to gain weight over the winter. Historically, there was less food available in cold weather, so it is natural for our bodies to find the way to make you eat more so you have more energy in case you lack food. The truth is that although it may be in our genes, most of us don’t have any problem finding enough food over winter, even during a very cold one. The result: we probably eat more, but never face an energy deficit.

There are other reasons why you may gain weight over the winter:

You eat more caloric food to compensate for the cold. Additionally, we burn more energy to warm up our body during colder months, so we end up eating more food and more calories. But sometimes we eat much more than what we need to invest in warming our bodies.

Long winter days cause you to  get in a “cabin fever mood,” looking for caloric and heavy comfort food, which  you probably don’t even know how to cook, so you end buying it pre-cooked or ordering take-out from a restaurant.

Those same long days leave you with less time to go outdoors and enjoy fresh air which causes the “cabin fever mood” to get worse.

And on top of that, if it is cold and dark it feels harder to exercise, even if the plan is to just go to the gym.

Continuing with the “winter mood,” you feel the need to go out with friends to dinner or drinks, adding many extras to your healthy menu plan.

Since you spend more time indoors you have more time for “cooking for fun” and you end up following recipes for rich dishes and desserts that you would never think about it in warm weather.

And on top of everything, there is the holiday season, with all the special occasions when you can’t say no to extra treats.

By the way, it could be that some of those extra pounds or kilos were already there after your summer and you were never able to get rid of them before winter ever started.  

What can you do to get ready for the warm weather?

Let’s be clear. There is no way that you are going to get any results with the simple advice out there like “10 Tips to Shed Winter Weight ” or “Spring Foods to help You Shed Your Winter Weight” or many other similar marketing messages.  Things like eating breakfast, limiting carbs or eating low sugar fruits or high protein snacks, are just very tiny parts, that although can be helpful, are just some aspects of what should be a much broader and complex weight management program.  

Remember that any program should include not only the right nutrition plan but also the right exercise regime for you to be able to go back on track.

It is true that the main aspect for those who wish to lose weight is nutrition, but if you want to get your body into a nice shape before the warm weather is here, you need to learn at least some of the exercises that help you get your body into it’s ideal shape, including butt exercises. (and yes!… I do have a video to show you how to work your butt…)

And remember, that even if you literally kill yourself in the gym, you won’t accomplish anything if you don’t work on what to eat to lose weight.

If you are the type of person looking for quick fixes and you don’t mind being hungry or suppressing large food groups, you have many options available that can work for you and can give you some results in a short term. Just make sure that you have a second plan ready to follow as soon as you finish with the ‘quick fix,’ so you don’t regain your losses in a short period of time. The goal is to prevent having to start back in square 1.  And here, my friend, is where I can help you, since I don’t teach quick fixes. But I do want to help you quit very restrictive programs, and to help you design your own rational weight management plan that will give you results for life. 

If by now you have come to learn that quick fixes don’t work for you, and that being hungry or avoiding many foods from main food groups makes you angry and irritable and is not something you want to consider. Then it is time that you find a program that really covers everything related to weight management, and that teaches you all you need to know and do so YOU can be the one in control of your weight no matter what. 

But because you have a busy life which makes taking on anything more an inconvenience for you and your family, you need a program very focused and well structured for you to learn everything A to Z, in a simple way that you can truly understand and keep in in your brain, so you can perfectly design your own healthy eating plan to lose weight.  

A program that:

• not only helps you lose and get in control of your weight, but teach you how not to be hungry and how to stop food cravings naturally and not having mood swings.
• helps you feel less tired and more active.
• gives you hope that you can be in control of your weight no matter how many things you have tried before, by learning exactly what you need to do.
• helps you develop your own strategy for action
• will upgrade your skills so you have the tools to achieve your vision and goals
• helps you optimize the environment around you so it can work in your favor.
• allows you to create confidence and new empowering beliefs so you can release the fears, doubts and limiting thoughts that are holding you back.

If you can relate to part or most of what I have been just talking about, I want you to know that I have created the 32 Mondays Weight Management Program SPECIFICALLY with YOU in mind. You can get in touch with me to schedule a free consultation and we can work out together to define the best program for you.

And although there are no magic wands or miraculous pills for weight loss, if you are truly committed and the type of person that is more comfortable working on your own and is not looking for too much interaction and maybe looking for a way to get your results faster, I have developed the 32 Mondays Weight Management Online Program Intensive: Eat to Lose Weight, which sounds the perfect program for you.  

Can you do it on your own?

Of course, there is a lot of information out there, and you can try to figure it all out yourself… but have you ever considered why professionals, I mean REAL professionals, spend SO MUCH TIME and effort putting the right programs together?

• Much of our time is spent separating what is true and relevant from the marketing and falsehood of the information available to us in the information found online and in books.
• We search for the best way to teach you so you understand the concepts and you can really grasp them and keep them as your new habits forever.
• We make sure that we include EVERY SINGLE ASPECT you need to know so you can be successful in learning and creating your own easy weight loss plan to be in control of your weight.
• We test and double test our programs to make sure that they work and will give you short and long term results. We keep in touch with our students to make sure that they are still doing OK and make changes to the program if things are not fully working.
• And always being there for you, so we can help you when you need it, which it is also one of the most important things in our list.

Truly, how close is what I am talking about from the free information you can find out there? What results do you think would you get from that free information comparing to a well designed and structured program?