What a beautiful time of year with the fall colors, holiday gatherings, shopping and love. The days are crisp, the evenings cool - a great time to sip that cup of tea under an extra blanket. The funny thing is, we just spent many months killing ourselves to fit into our bathing suit for summer, but now it seems we have a more relaxed attitude and have geared ourselves back towards eating again. Well, it IS the holidays...and since I have on all those extra clothes anyway, nobody is going to pay attention to a few extra pounds. And I can just plan a New Years Resolution, right?
Wrong. According to a study at Sweden's Linkoping University, those couple of months of celebrating can actually lead to long term weight gain.
The researchers took a group of young people, increased their caloric intake by 70% and lowered their exercise levels. They also had a group they didnt alter. At 4 weeks, the test grop had gained an average of 14 lbs. After 6 months, and no longer on the special diet, only 1/3 of these had returned to their original weight. After one year, these members were each still averaging 4 lbs heavier. After 2 yrs, this same gluttonous group continued to gain, while the non altered group still maintained a stable weight.
Most of us dont increase our food intake that much for 30 days straight...there is Thanksgiving (well you can start at Halloween), Thanksgiving leftovers, Hanukkah, Christmas parties at work and around, Christmas eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day...add in those extra sweets, cocktails, etc. So whats the big deal anyway?
The problem is a year later most people have not removed their excess 'baggage' from the holidays (which may only be one pound). Continuing this pattern for 30-40 holiday seasons and the problem becomes "huge".
So here are some tips that might help you get thru the holidays so you can still fit into that same bathing suit in the summer, and not have to hide under all those clothes in the winter.
1. Buy clothes that fit NOW: This is a great motivation in keeping off weight. That new piece or two of clothing can be all the motivation you need to keep that summer body around awhile. Imagine buying that beautiful holiday dress or slacks, and then find you cant zip it...thanks to those sugar cookies. Before you being festivities, go buy yourself something perfect to wear at your parties and hang it somewhere that you will see it all the time - as a reminder.
2. Write it down. Have you ever thought about keeping a journal on everything you eat. This is something I always suggest to those I try to help lose weight. If you write it down, and do the math, you can help lessen the damage. It may help to compensate for a few slip ups. By seeing what we have eaten, can help us correct the balance. We know we are going to indulge in things we dont usually eat during the rest of the year - so by writing it down, may help us to see, so we can cut back in another area to compensate.So lets say you had that delectable chocolate brownie during a break at work, which is carbs and fat. Eat one less portion of carbs an done less portion of fat for dinner. Not the best, but it definately will help!
3. Keep Exercising!!!: Its a proven fact that the time between Thanksgiving and New years is the slowest point of the year for exercising.People may schedule time at the gym, but only cancel them because of Christmas parties and other gatherings. One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is to stay focused on an exercise plan and goal. Its hard to stay balanced when there is so much to do this time of year. If shopping is getting in the way, then try to do all you can online. Too many parties - show up later, thus cutting down on high calorie cocktails anyway. You'll still enjoy the company without the hangover in the morning. Stay consistent, even if its not convenient.
4. Get the junk out!: How much additional junk to you have around this holiday season - extra baking, candy canes,...well, you know what I mean. Ever have those late 12:30am, nights after a full day, there are those few cookies you can throw down before bed to help you 'feel better' about your rotten day. The secret is to get those enticements out of the house...bring them to work, regift them to your 100 lb friend with perfect metabolism, give them to the ladies at the salon...or throw em in the trash if necessary. Box up leftovers and send them home with your guests. Do all you can to get all the less healthy temptations out of your reach.
5. Eat BEFORE parties: Most holiday parties have foods that are less than healthy so unless you are organizing the event, the best damage control is to show up with a full belly (of good things). Eat your healthy meals and snacks thru the day and if you are going straight from work, plan a healthy snack before hitting the party. You will be iess likely to eat much of the dips, pigs in a blanket, cakes and other high calorie foods if you already have eaten.
6. Offer to prepare some healthy alternatives: This may not be well received by those who would rather spend Thanksgiving sitting around watching football and working in the kitchen but if you do some of the cooking, you have control. The way the turkey and stuffing are prepared, cranberry sauce full of sugar, veggies with heavy cream and countless other things can make or break the healthiness of a meal. There are tons of cookbooks out there and recipes online that can help with healtier meal planning for the holidays. And remember you can always workout later with the Beachbody fitness programs!
7. Chose wisely: Only during the holidays do we feel like we have to sample everything - kind of like a Las Vegas Buffet. We feel like those foods will never exist again, and that this is our last meal on Earth. Why not try to just pick your favorites and keep the portions to the size of your palm. If you are still hungry, try to fill up more on veggies - preferably the ones that arent soaked in butter or cream. If you want dessert (who wouldnt!) lean towards smaller slices of pumpkin as apposed to pecan, and leave out the hydrogenated non dairy whipped topping. Try to stay away from the high calorie rum based egg nogs as well. Just a few wise choices will save you a ton of calories and a significant amount of heartburn too.
8. Dont beat yourself up: This is the worst thing you can do during the Holidays. It does stink to gain those extra pouinds after you worked so hard to get them off. But sometimes its not so bad as having to deal with an irate hostess (like your mom) because you wouldnt eat her pies and potato pancakes. We can only do our very best. Mentally beating ourselves up will only make you feel worse and that never helps anyone get back into their fitness program and routine. If you happen to gain a few extra lbs this season, be part of the rare group that actually follows thru with their New Years Resolution and manages to get rid of them again. A week of hard work and a slight calorie decrease will do the trick.
Enjoy your holidays!
Robin
*Excerpts taken from an article by Stephanie Saunders
