If you are like most folks, the holidays involved lots of food and drink, more than we normally consume. While it was fun to indulge in belt-busting Christmas and New Year’s fare, you may now feel sluggish and out of sorts — not to mention heavier — after overeating. Leading weight loss expert and health coach, Lisa Lynn, author of "The Metabolism Solution," who was Martha Stewart’s personal trainer for 18 years, says five simple steps can help you recover from a holiday food hangover.

“This plan will also ease emotional stress and help you bounce back and start losing weight again in the New Year,” she told Newsmax. “I normally feel terrible when I overeat, so I am passing along the five best ways to manage holiday weight gain and motivate yourself to start fresh and healthy in 2021.”

1. Hydrate. According to a familiar saying in the field of sports medicine, “the solution to everything is dilution.”  Lynn, the founder of LynFit.com, says “Our bodies are made of 60% water, so water should be viewed as the core of your health improvement. It flushes toxins out of your body and immediately makes you feel better.” Aim for at least 6-8 glasses of water daily.
2. Detox for 48 hours. Food hangovers are the result of overwhelming your body’s digestive process so ease up and eat less for two days, says the expert. She recommends using a protein shake, like the Metabolic Complete Protein Shake, that contains whey protein for two meals daily and having a nutritious dinner. The shake also helps boost your metabolism by 25%, says Lynn, a frequent guest on The Doctor Oz Show.
3. Use the “KISS” principle. “Keep salads simple and slimming by using lots of greens dressed with apple cider vinegar for digestive support,” she says. If you have more severe digestive issues, add some fresh crushed ginger and mint to the dressing. Lynn says that for at least two days, you should eliminate protein from your dinner to help detoxify the body and stick to vegetables and whole grains.
4. Know your triggers. From quarantine boredom to family functions and holiday parties, many of us turn to food and alcohol for support. Lynn says that if you find yourself mindlessly munching on potato chips after a meal, ask yourself why you’re eating and see if the answer has little to do with real hunger. “For me, it’s about not having enough personal time with God,” she says. “This escalates my stress and I reach for food to soothe myself, and you can bet it’s not broccoli I crave!” 
5. Walk for an hour daily. Not only does walking help calm you and distract you from eating, but this simple exercise also counteracts fat genes. Harvard researchers studied 32 obesity-promoting genes in over 12,000 people to find out how these genes affected actual weight gain. The researchers discovered that the effects of the genes were slashed in half when people walked an hour daily.