How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain
It seems to happen every
holiday season.
You attend parties and office
gatherings to share a few
festive moments with family,
friends, colleagues and lots
and lots of food. But when
the holiday season is finally
over, the bathroom scale
reveals that you’ve gained
some weight again, much to
your chagrin.
Research studies show most
adults gain some weight
over the holidays. But don’t
despair because this year can
be different.
How can you try to maintain
your weight and heart-health
during such a tempting time?
Here are tips to surviving the
holiday hoop-la that is surefire success – this season
and in the future ones to
come.
1. Get moving
One of the most effective
ways to maintain or lose
body weight is to engage in
regular, sustained aerobic
activity.To burn off those
extra calories, kick up your
exercise. If you exercise for
30 minutes a day, increase
it to 45 minutes. If you
exercise three times a week,
move it up to five times a
week.
Exercise is a great way to
burn those extra calories you
may be taking in this time of
year (remember those iced
reindeer cookies you had
with lunch?). Here are some
ideas to get you moving:
*If you have a stationery
bicycle or treadmill at
home, dust it off and put it
in front of the television or
radio for some background
entertainment while you’re
exercising. Why not watch
your favorite television show
and exercise at the same
time?
*Go to the library and get a
book on tape or CD, listen to
it and read (so-to-speak) as
you exercise.
*Haven’t used your gympass in awhile? Hire a
personal trainer to teach
you effective calorie-burning
techniques, or join that kick
boxing class you’ve always
wanted to try.
*Go for a morning or evening
walk alone or with a friend.
*Put a little kick in your
cleaning technique. Fire up
some music and dance while
you clean. Who ever knew
cleaning could be so fun?
2. Aim for seven-a-day
Making sure you eat seven
or more servings of fruits
and vegetables each day is
a great way to help fill-up
your stomach but not your
calorie level. When compared
to other snack foods like
chips, crackers and cookies,
gram for gram, fruits and
vegetables contain fewer
calories and tons more
nutrients. What’s more – the
fiber in fruits and vegetables
fill you up faster than
traditional snack foods. Pack
your refrigerator with bags of
cut-up vegetables and whole
or cut-up fruits. Grab a bag
while on the go or at work.
Make a pact with yourself
that you’ll eat your five-aday before you snack on
any cookies or other holiday
treats. You’re sure to take in
fewer calories overall.
3. Control the risk for
temptation
Controlling even the slightest
chance of coming in contact
with ‘tempting’ foods is one
way to effectively reduce
your intake. While you
won’t be able to control all
situations, focus on the ones
you can. For example, do
you keep candy or cookies
at your desk or workspace?
Make a mental note of
tempting places and try
to control them. Mentally
plan out how you will avoid
tempting situations.
4. Limit to one-a-day
While you can’t control
every situation, you can
control how much food goes
into your mouth. If you are
constantly bombarded with
holiday parties and displays
of desserts or candies you
can still effectively help
prevent overeating and
weight gain. One way is the
one-a-day method. Allow
yourself one small serving
of a cookie or piece of candy
each day during the holiday
season. Remember that you
may have to compensate for
it later in the day by reducing
your total caloric intake or by
burning a few extra calories
while exercising. If you aren’t
confronted with holiday
foods that day, just skip
your one-a-day – but don’t
compensate and double-up
on your serving the next day.
when choosing appetizers
– a small portion of some
appetizers may help you from
overeating at dinner.?Pick
up a small plate, and stick
with vegetables, but limit
or avoid the creamy dips.
Restrict your intake of butter
crackers, chips, cheese and
meats. If you must have a
deep-fried appetizer, eat only
one small serving. Never go
back for seconds. For dinner,
fill half of your plate with
salad and vegetables, one
quarter with meat, and the
final quarter with starch.
4.Avoid the sauce?
Avoid sauces made from
cream, half-and-half or meat
drippings. For salads, use
oil and vinegar, vinaigrette
or low-fat dressings. Broth
-based or vegetable sauces
are fine.
Alcohol has alot of empty
calories, especially if you are
choosing to go with one like
egg-nog.
7. Say No Politely
Many times you feel forced
to eat foods because people
keep putting it in front of
you. Learn to say no politely,
such as “No thank you, I’ve
had enough. Everything was
delicious”, or “I couldn’t eat
another bite. Everything
tasted wonderful”. You’ll find
saying no isn’t so hard to do
after all.
8. Focus on socializing
5.What about desserts?
Don’t stand around the food
table when you are at a
party – focus your energies
on making conversation with
others instead of focusing
on foods. Conversation is
calorie-free.
6. Be in charge of your party
choices:
The best low-calorie choices
are fruit, Jell-O, pudding,
an unfrosted mini muffin,
shortbread cookies, ginger
snaps or angel food cake.
If you must have a dessert
with frosting, butter cream,
cream cheese, or chocolate
chips, limit yourself to one
small cookie or one thin slice
of cake.
Remember, the holidays are
meant to celebrate good
times with family and friends.
Enjoy the holidays and plan
effective strategies to help
you achieve your weight
loss goals. Achieving what
you sought out for will give
you one more good reason
for holiday cheer! Happy
Holidays!
*Small plate, please?Be wise
6.Watch the drinks?
5. Always plan ahead – Never
go to a party hungry
Before you go to a holiday
party, eat a healthy snack.
When you arrive at the party,
you won’t be craving hors
d’oeuvres.