Super Bowl junk food hangover?

February 2, 10:53 AMNutrition ExaminerCarol Bardelli

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Escape the junk food bloat.

Are you screaming at the scale today? If you're one of those weight watchers who fell off the diet wagon on Super Bowl Sunday and want to escape the bloat, here's a few tips to get back on track.

First, clean up your act. Freeze, give away, or throw out leftover goodies. Get the diet busters out of your house. You cannot eat what isn't there. Fill the void left by the banished foods with healthy fare. If you haven't got healthy foods on hand go shopping. Grab prewashed bagged salad, bagged carrots and celery, cherry tomatoes, fruit, lean protein and dairy. Stick to a light menu for a few days and avoid starchy carbs. Skip the sodas and drink lots of water. Water flushes out extra salt from those chips you ate and helps the body function optimally.

Get moving. Walk instead of riding, be it the elevator, the car, or the bus or train. The one exception here is the bicycle. Riding to work or to do errands can save money on gas while burning calories. If you watch television sitting down, get up instead. The Family Guy doesn't care if you march in place or do squats while you watch. The Biggest Loser invites you to walk on the treadmill while you watch contestants sweat.

Don't sweat the small stuff. Everybody falls off their diet and exercise program from time to time. It's not the end of the world and it shouldn't be the end of your weight loss efforts or fitness goals. Get up, dust yourself off and start over. Revisit your goals. What do you really want to achieve? Write down specifics and how you plan to get to your goals. Refine your goals and focus on what you need to do to achieve them. What can you do today? Skip the Starbucks coffee and drink unsweetened tea. Do calf raises while you fold laundry. Making simple changes really adds up, and making that first step in the right direction can inspire you to build on your accomplishments.

Surround yourself with inspiration and information. Buy a book on nutrition and fitness like 'The Body Fat Solution' by Tom Venuto. Grab a fitness magazine at the grocery store. Two of my favorites are Muscle and Fitness and Muscular Development among others. Check out your online resources including these magazines websites. Watch YouTube videos on fitness and nutrition. Check out the examples below. Pass on the fast food crowd at work and eat with the gym rat you'd like to get to know better.

Above all, remember weight loss, weight management, and fitness are not a destiny but a journey. Even fit people have to work at it. In the end the lifestyle choices you make every day determine your results. Be it sitting instead of walking, eating chips instead of a piece of fruit, being overweight versus being fit, the choice really is yours. 

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