Minimizing Holiday Weight Gain

The holidays are rapidly approaching.  With that comes weight gain for most people. It’s hard not to gain weight with all of the additional parties and goodies. The biggest problem for most people is that they take an all-or-nothing attitude when it comes to diet. So, naturally, when the holidays come, they stop trying to control their food intake and plan to take care of it after the New Year.

This attitude backfires for the majority of people.  My advice:  try to minimize the damage by paying a bit of attention to what you are taking in during the holidays.  After a month of partying and travel, most people are worn out and never take off all of the weight they gained, leading to that yearly creep of weight that so many experience.

Let's "do the numbers."  A pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. The average exercise will burn 200-500 calories per hour. So even at 500 per hour, that is 7 hours of exercise! The average person eats 1600-2200 calories per day (or should) so that is a 1 1/2 to 2 days of food! Now, multiply that by the SEVEN pounds that the average American gains each holiday season. Scary.

Now, if you can minimize the gain to 1 or 2 extra pounds, that might seem a little more doable. The key is paying attention to what you are taking in, not denying yourself all of the goodies the holidays have to offer.

Here are a few tips:
1.  Avoid standing next to bowls of food. It is way too easy to just reach out and grab another cookie when they are right next to you. Stand a little further away, so that you have to think about it before you grab one.
2.  Think about what you drink. Stay away from the pop. With all of the other things you are taking in, you don’t need the extra 220 calories a can of soda has to add! A light beer has about 100 calories. Think of drinks like deserts, because that is essentially what they are. Hot chocolate, egg nog, punch and many others are full of calories.
3.  Watch your portions. Try to take a little of everything, not a lot of everything.
4.  Try to eat healthy when you are at home. If you know you have a bunch of parties coming up, plan low fat, healthy meals for rest of the time.
5.  Sneak in some exercise, even if it is only 15 minutes. It’s 15 less you’ll have to do after the holidays, AND it makes you think about fitness, which may encourage you to “behave."  Finding time for a quick workout gives you some “me time” and helps keep your energy up while traveling, shopping, etc.  It also relieves stress.

While no one wants to diet through the holidays, using a little restraint can go a long way to minimizing the damage.  You can still have a great time and not hate yourself  in January!