7 Tips for Keeping the Winter Weight Off

This was pretty fun.

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It happens to all of us. Once summer is over and we’re able to rug up in layer upon layer of warm, shapeless clothing, we get a little slack with our health regime. Overindulgence at Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and everything in between seems forgivable now that there’s no chance of a surprise trip to the beach, but come springtime, we always regret that fifth helping of turkey. Here are a few tips to help manage the holiday backslide.
1) Tea.
Let’s start with something simple. As residents in the tea capital of the world, no one is better situated to take advantage of all the glorious health benefits of tea, be it green, black, red, or white. Leaving aside their cancer-fighting benefits, the catechins (a type of polyphenol) in tea have been shown to induce thermogenesis, meaning it increases our internal heat, thereby boosting our metabolism and helping to burn off fat. Add the lemon wedge, as it helps the catechins bond with the intestinal wall, but ditch the milk: a 2006 German study showed that it prevents tea’s vascular protective effects.

2) Go Green.
A lot of expats don’t know much about Chinese vegetables, but here’s a secret: if it’s edible and comes from the ground, it’s good for you. No matter where they’re from, leafy greens are high in both weight-loss friendly fibre and phytonutrients like indole-3-carbinol. These nutrients are anti-estrogenic, meaning they actually reduce the belly fat we gain from the estrogen in food like beer, wheat, non-organic meat, and some vegetables. Our favourite Chinese leafy greens include water spinach/ kōngxīncài (空心菜), bok choy (小白菜), yóu mài cài (油麦菜, a long Chinese lettuce), and mǐ xiàn (米苋, a green or purple vegetable with round, petal-like leaves)

3) Use less salt and more herbs and spices.
Salt has benefits in small doses, but there are healthier ways to boost a dish’s flavour. All spices have great antioxidant and weight loss benefits, but some of the best are readily available in Shanghai: according to Lisa Guy of the Art of Healing Practice, both ginger and garlic can lower cholesterol and lower blood sugar (high amounts of which cause weight gain), and chili contains capsaicin, which has been shown to increase our metabolism.

4) Intermittent fasting.
Controversial, sure, but worth a try. Try consuming only water and tea for a 24 hour period once a week; the Intermountain Medical Center in Utah found that in addition to improving insulin sensitivity, a day of fasting has the body producing twenty times more growth hormone than normal. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you’ll look like Stallone – it means the body starts using more fat for energy, reducing body fat and preserving muscle, all while giving you a massive caloric deficit (read: exercise-free fat loss).

5) Sprint .
Try this alternative to long, boring jogs: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), which is a type of anaerobic exercise (as opposed to jogging, which is aerobic). Try sprinting for 30 seconds and jogging for 30 seconds, repeating cycles for 15 minutes, three or four times a week. Though this type of cardio is brief, it keeps the body burning fat for up to 48 hours post-exercise, while also releasing our friend growth hormone.

6) Cut loose the juice.
All the sugar of fruit with none of the fibre? No, thanks. Stick to eating your fruit and vegetables whole, and try to restrict your liquids to water, tea, and low fat milk to keep the blood sugar low and the fat off your stomach.

7) Know your street food.
Despite the olfactory assault of walking past a stinky tofu stand, we put street food in the “Pros” column of living in Shanghai. When navigating the stalls, try to pick one of these options:
Sweet potatoes: A superfood by anyone’s standards, this vegetable is chock full of fibre and vitamins.
Corn on the cob: Surprisingly high in protein, corn is also high in fibre but, like sweet potatoes, has plenty of carbohydrates, so try to eat it before or after exercise.
Rice noodles: If you have to go for street noodles, there’s no reason to not take this gluten free option, as many (albeit controversial) experts believe that gluten increases body fat .
Jian bings: Strictly speaking we should avoid flour, but the egg in a jian bing gives it a high quality protein, while the chili aids the metabolism.

We’re certainly none of us perfect, but remember these tips to help minimize that dreaded winter weight gain. Happy holidays!

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