New year new you: healthy weight loss tips to fight the festive flab

If an overconsumption of festive food has fuelled your fear of flaunting a fuller figure, starting the year with the mental motivation to move more and consume less (crap) is a positive step towards ditching those tighter trousers, but are you about to banish the Christmas bloat by falling victim to a festive figure fix that will leave you prone to piling on the pounds?

Here are my top three tips for a safe, satisfying, sustainable and successful weight loss plan.

1. There is no short-term fix to a long-term psychological problem.
Although the thought of struggling to sustain tough training sessions and sensible food swaps may trigger the temptation to turn to the pills and plans that 'promise' to prevent us from piling on the pounds - think slimming shakes, strict supplementation and the severe restriction of specific food sources - anything that reiterates the words 'rapid results' resembles a recipe for dieting disaster. In fact, any 'diet' or 'detox' that claims to drop a dress size (or more than 2lbs) in as little as a week will not only leave us failing to fight the flab, but susceptible to suffering from an abundance of unsightly side effects including irritability, digestive disorders, physical and psychological exhaustion, weight gain and an increased risk of resorting to the bothersome binges that we're battling to banish.

2. We are human - not machines.
Eliminating the excess energy that stems from festive fuelled feasts by subjecting the body and mind to strategic rules and regimes may seem like a sensible solution to shedding a (fuller) festive figure, but the reality of moving more and consuming less (crap) does not resemble the religious execution of an extreme exercise and eating regime - it resembles a safe and sustainable weight loss plan that is satisfying on both a physical and psychological scale. 
Before embarking on an exaggerated eating and/or exercise plan in an attempt to oust an overconsumption of calories (and Christmas cake!), remember that humans are not only psychologically programmed to rebel against rules, but we are susceptible to suffering from the physical stressors that stem from strategic regimes - we will burn out!

3. Ditch diet induced deprivation.
Depriving the body and mind of delicious dishes and desserts in fear of failing to fight the festive flab will hinder our healthier habits and leave us prone to piling on the pounds. In fact, by consciously convincing ourselves that we can no longer consume tasty treats and takeaways, we not only become psychologically preoccupied with 'forbidden' food, but instantly increase the risk of resorting to bingeing on 'bad' calories as we dedicate every ounce of energy to thinking about the taste and texture of the treat and/or takeaway we now see as tainted - we struggle to sustain the self control to stop once we succumb to the food or drink source that we see as a sin.

Top tip: long-term weight loss resembles realistic lifestyle changes that are small and sustainable - not a short-term quick fix that leaves you struggling to sustain strength, stamina and self control.