Home
>
Weight Loss
>
How To Indulge and Win The Battle of The Bulge During The Holidays: Get Yourself a Buddy

How To Indulge and Win The Battle of The Bulge During The Holidays: Get Yourself a Buddy

If you are trying to lose weight, the holidays literally are the heaviest time of the year.

So how do you eat, drink and be merry while you're counting every single calorie? By getting a buddy who will help you make the right choices bite by bite.

Scientific studies have shown that people who diet with partners are much more likely to lose weight and to keep it off. And there's no more crucial time to have a buddy on your side than from Thanksgiving to New Year's.

"During the holidays, you can use all the help you can get," says Alan Gettis, a nutritionist and clinical psychologist in River Edge, N.J. "I urge my clients to get a full-time year-round a buddy, it could be a husband or a wife, a neighbor or a friend. I've also been telling my clients about www.weightlossbuddy.com, where they can sign up for a buddy for free."

But don't wait for the first feast to find a buddy, says Susan Holmberg, a nutritionist and behavioral therapist in Oradell, N.J. "Once you start overeating, you don't want a buddy," she says.

Buddies give you moral support and help you identify bad eating habits and patterns because they have been there, too, she says. "You may want to have more than one buddy," she says. "You can have one on the phone and one who exercises with you and goes to parties with you. You can make deals with your buddy where you both go to the party but only one of you goes through the buffet line or where you agree to split one meal."

Buddies also are like therapists and coaches, who listen to you and keep you on the right path. "Your buddy should be a person you can share your feelings with and rely on in a pinch without fear that your feelings will be used as ammunition against you," Gettis says.

Holmberg says that www.WeightLossBuddy.com is particularly helpful to people who may be reluctant to change because those who sign on can choose a either real-life buddy, someone in their geographical area they can meet and exercise with, or select someone to work with solely online or via the phone. "Sometimes anonymity is good," she says. "You are much more likely to try it if you don't have to meet the person."

Gettis points out that with www.WeightLossBuddy, "you can find someone with similar goals, and both of you can support each other."

Buddies also take on active roles, getting you to stop a bad habit and replace it with a healthy one. Gettis likens the process to a marathon, where the runners are tempted to give up before the 26th mile because it is so difficult to stay the course. "The 18- to 19-mile mark is the crucial one," he says. "During a marathon I was once in, I came upon two guys running ? one was hurting, and the other was encouraging him to keep running. I followed them for two to three miles, and the one kept saying, 'Leave me.' The other kept saying, 'I'm not going to.' And I thought, 'What great friends!' Then I heard the one hurting say, 'What's your name?'"

Perhaps the most important role that buddies play is helping plan strategies and then making sure that you make them work. "They can teach you to take baby steps and to change your environment," Holmberg says. "For instance, they may suggest that you keep sneakers in your trunk or put on your gym clothes as you leave the office so you don't have an excuse not to exercise. They can call ahead to the party to check on the menu and give you a low-cal recipe to bring so there's at least one thing that you can eat."

Holmberg says that some of the changes are so simple that people overlook them. A buddy may, for instance, suggest that you get at the end of the buffet line so there is less food available or help the host wash dishes because if your hands are wet, you are less likely to nibble on the last remaining crumbs from the serving dishes. "If you are asked to bring dessert, your buddy may remind you not to make chocolate chip cookies because the last time you ate a dozen cookies before you brought them to the party and nibbled the chips while baking and suggest that instead you make something like a pie that can't be nibbled because it is cut only when served."

Buddies also can help you practice being assertive, not aggressive to make significant changes in your diet and your lifestyle. "By being assertive, you attack the task," Gettis says. "By being aggressive, you attack the person. You need to stand your ground and in a firm but angry voice say: 'I really would appreciate it if you would not bring home anything fattening. You may have had good intentions, but I'd feel better if you didn't do it again.'"

So don't wait until you're boxed in by back-to-back parties and surrounded by wall-to-wall goodies to find a buddy. Make an early New Year's resolution to do it now, long before the marathon feasts begin, Gettis says. "You have to be realistic, so don't count on losing 10 to 12 pounds during the holidays. Don't say you'll lose 10 pounds during the holidays, and don't gain 10 either. And get someone to be your buddy for all 12 months of the year. You have nothing to lose ? but weight."

About The Author

Joey Dweck
Your Weight Loss Buddy
PO Box 488 Tenafly NJ 07670
Tel. 877-BuddyUp

We at www.weightlossbuddy.com are committed to helping you find a 24/7 buddy who will not only help you lose weight but who also will get you to change to a healthy lifestyle. You choose your own diet and your own exercise regime, and we find you a buddy who literally will stick with you through thick and thin. Signing up for a buddy is free. Simply visit the website or call up 1-877-BUDDY-UP.

Twin Lakes rental limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’Hare

In The News:

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Home inventory and restoration apps help itemize and track every item in your home in the event you have to make an insurance claim after a natural disaster.

The White House launched a new cybersecurity safety label, the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark, intended to help consumers make informed decisions on smart device safety.

Today's tech can help make life so much easier — if you know how to use it. Here are a few tips on the quickest and best ways to make your phone, laptop and other devices work for you.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers Windows 11 restart fixes: Update drivers, run system scans and check hardware.

Sony and Honda's Afeela 1 EV launches with advanced tech and entertainment for $89,900. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives his takeaways.

With limited hard drive space, tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson offers these tips for storing large video files and photos.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says the $236,000 Yangwang U9 electric hypercar boasts 1,287 horsepower and can jump obstacles.

Flip phones are harder to block spam calls from, but it's not impossible. Kurt the "CyberGuy" explains how to stop incoming robocalls on your flip phone.

With so many notifications buzzing our phones these days, it's tough to distinguish between legitimate messages and possible scams. Kurt the CyberGuy helps unravel the mystery.

Scammers have a new trick where they pretend to be job recruiters to plant malicious apps on your devices. It all starts with a deceptive email.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Kurt the CyberGuy breaks down why those emails that warn that "Your Apple ID has been disabled" is most likely a scam. Here's how to protect yourself.

Even small mistakes can negatively impact your credit score; here are some of the most common credit report errors and how you can fix them.

Tech guru Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explores the many different ways you can repurpose that old iPhone of yours rather than trashing it.

A pioneering artificial intelligence and robotics company from China has developed a repository of over 1 million robotic movements to provide robotic training.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals the warning signs and steps to take if you suspect that your personal computer is infected with a virus.

Researchers found in a study that users of a robotic prosthetic hand could successfully grasp and move two objects at once without dropping them.

The James Webb Space Telescope captured photos of one of the earliest supernovas ever seen using infrared technology, and creating a time lapse of the phenomena.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

New Mac malware variant targets browser credentials and personal data, researchers find. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson gives tips to safeguard your Mac from the latest malware threats.

The Jetson One eVTOL showcases air racing potential, ushering in a new aviation era. Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says the race for eVTOL supremacy is just beginning.

Tech expert Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals that hackers stole data from Gravy Analytics, a major seller of smartphone location data to the U.S.

Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson: If you just bought a new iPhone, here’s what to do first when you fire it up.

AC Future and Pininfarina unveil AI Transformer homes, merging sustainability and innovation. Kurt “CyberGuy" Knutsson says this could change the way we think about home.