Holiday Dieting - Don't Stuff Yourself Like A Thanksgiving Turkey

The holidays are coming! It's a season of goodwill, gift giving, gatherings of family and friends, and gorging ourselves with food to the extent that our scales, if they could talk, would scream, "Get him (or her) off of me!" In 2000, a study of holiday dieting was conducted by the National Institutes of Health. The co-author of the study prefaced the study by stating the following:



"Because losing weight is so difficult, it is important to learn when and why people gain weight so that effective strategies to prevent obesity can be developed, " said study co-author Susan Z. Yanovski, M.D., Executive Director of NIDDK's National Task Force on the Treatment and Prevention of Obesity.



Upon gathering and evaluating all of the data, they reached the following conclusion:



"Although an average holiday weight gain of less than a pound may seem unimportant, that weight was not lost over the remainder of the year," Dr. Yanovski said. When 165 of the study volunteers were weighed a year after the study began, they had not lost the extra weight gained during the holidays, and ended the year a pound and a half heavier (1.4 lb) than they were the year before.



"This is a 'good news/bad news' story," said Dr. Yanovski. "The good news is that people don't gain as much weight as we thought during the holidays. The bad news is that weight gained over the winter holidays isn't lost during the rest of the year."



Further more, when coupled with the information that adults over the age of 19 gained an average of .5 to 1.8 pounds a year, it was included that the bulk (no pun intended) of that weight was gained during the 6-week interval between Thanksgiving and New Years Day.



Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound (in this case almost 2 pounds) of cure, let me give you a few helpful hints to keep you from assuming a shape like Santa Claus due to holiday eating.



DON'T MAKE EXCUSES. I always say that excuses are like sweaty armpits. Everyone has them and they all stink! When I was stationed in the Middle East during Operation Iraqi Freedom, there was another saying; "What you tolerate becomes the standard." How true that is! If you tell yourself, "it's the holiday season, I'll enjoy this now and work it off starting next year", you are well on your way to putting on pounds that you will spend the rest of the year trying to diet and/or exercise off. Or what's worse, you might never get it off.



DON'T STAND NEXT TO THE FOOD AT PARTIES. As obvious as this one sounds, how many of us have made this mistake. If food is within arm's reach, we tend to snack on it, even if we aren't hungry. Standing across the room from the food will force you to make a conscious effort to walk across the room to get it.



DEPLOY A PREEMPTIVE STRIKE. Though this is a military term (and I am a military person), we are at war with obesity, so bear with me. If you know you are going to a holiday party where a lot of food and drink will be served, fill up before you get there. Eat a snack, or even a small meal. Make yourself a sandwich with some whole grain bread, or use my favorite, eat some breakfast cereal that is high in fiber like Grape-Nuts or shredded wheat. As with the sandwich, the protein will quell the hunger and the high fiber from the bread or cereal will give your stomach a feeling of fullness to keep you from overeating. Make sure that you drink plenty of water before you leave as well. Your stomach will feel fuller and you won't be thirsty at a party with high calorie drinks.



LIMIT YOUR CHOICES. If you go to a holiday party and are confronted with a cornucopia of food choices and you decide that you'll just eat a little bit of every thing, you have just guaranteed a high calorie intake because a little bit of everything will add up to be a lot. Choose a reasonable amount of three different foods and eat that. Make only one of those choices a sweet food and eat that one last. Your waist line will thank you.



DON'T DRESS LIKE SANTA CLAUS. Wear your tightest clothes during the holidays so that you will be uncomfortable if you overeat. Tight clothing will provide you with an instant warrning.



IT'S BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE. If you have a holiday party at your house, give ALL of the food away to the guests as they leave. If you are a guest at a party DO NOT bring any of the leftover food home.



WHEN IN DOUBT, GET OUT. If you are in a place where people are cooking and the smells are making you hungry, its time to leave the area and do something else. Just trying to think about something else won't cut it. It's like the joke, "Don't think of a pink elephant." What do you think of? That's right, a pink elephant! A change of venue and change of activity will help quell the hunger and avoid a binge.



Last but certainly not least, DON'T STOP EXERCISING! Even though it is impossible to out exercise your diet, you must not stop exercising. Of course you can take off on a religious holiday or the normal day of the week that you take off. But that's it. Let's get back to point #1.



NO EXCUSES. Even if you are short on time during this busy season, you can always knock out a quick 15 minute circuit. You'll keep your metabolism up and continue to burn fat throughout the holiday season.

Now you are ready. Enjoy the holidays. Celebrate, socialize, and spread good cheer. Eat reasonably, continue to exercise. and you will start the new year right.