Holiday Weight Loss Tips

Heading into Thanksgiving, followed by a cruise, brought many emotions of happiness and excitement! A time to spend time with family and friends; sharing, caring , and loving. Since joining the CardioMender, MD Weight Loss Specialists team three months ago as the Director and a patient, the lifestyle change has been rewarding. During this time, having lost the amount of weight of the average 2 year old or the weight of an SUV tire, it has been a phenomenal journey to walk alongside all of our precious patients.

Since the average American gains 7-10 pounds on a 7 day cruise, pre-cruise planning is extremely important. Typical pre-cruise planning questions include: What excursions to book? What entertainment to see? What fancy clothes and fun shoes to bring? What time is dinner?

MOST IMPORTANTLY: What is the lifestyle plan for meals and snacks? After all, I am navigating through unfamiliar waters –this is a lifestyle change to LIVE. To EMBRACE.

Tips to travel with…for LIFE:

• Drinking all my daily water and appropriate fluids – how will this happen?
  • Solution: Bring a reusable 24oz bottle to refill frequently with ice and purified water. There are many apps for your phone that track water consumption. Try one!

• Snacks to keep up with eating every 3-4 hours – how will this be able to happen?
  • Solution: Bring shakers, snack bars, and other snacks.

• Buffets, snacks, drinks, meal-time all the time ceremoniously celebrated on a cruise …
  • Solution: Have a dialogue with the head waiter day one and share your preferences – they are there to serve you very graciously. No bread, pasta, potatoes, rice or desserts for this guest, please. Cruise staff aim to please in providing you an excellent experience. Also, track what you are putting in your body: on your phone, food log, or whatever app may work best. You may consider downloading the App: “My Net Diary” – this is a very comprehensive application for iPhone and Android that has been developed with academic and scientific research. People who keep a daily food diary lose more than twice as much weight as compared to those who did not record their food intake while dieting.

• Salads can be found abundantly, but what goes on top of them can add up to hundreds of calories
  • Solution: Pack single serving Walden Farms salad dressings (0 calories) OR alternatively non-balsamic vinegar with salt, pepper, herbs with a squeeze or lemon or lime and a drizzle of olive oil. Not having to stress about the calories in my dressing was very freeing.

• Formal exercise? This is a preference for each passenger. Hitting the gym on the ship was likely not going to be part of my particular experience, so what was the best option?
  • Solution: Take the stairs. Every time. Enjoy beautiful laps around the Sports Deck or any of the outside decks. Something refreshing about salty sea air, shades of blue as far as the eye can see, and the music of the dancing water.

I had a great time experiencing the ship, the ports, the people, and the activities. I enjoyed the meals but I also made a conscious effort to balance my cruising experience while still being able to truly get away from the day to day.

After a full week of festivities – 3.9 pounds lost at sea! I’m not there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday!

You’ve Got to Live It!^TM
Kathy Sadler
Director of Center Operations

Learn more about CardioMender, MD’s weight loss method today!