How To Indulge And Win The Battle Of The Bulge During The Holidays

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Article Title: How To Indulge And Win The Battle Of The Bulge

During The Holidays

Author: Dweck

Word Count: 959

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If you are trying to lose weight, the holidays literally are

the heaviest time of the year.

So how do you eat, drink and be merry while you’re counting

every single calorie? By getting a buddy who will help you make

the right choices bite by bite.

Scientific studies have shown that people who diet with

partners are much more likely to lose weight and to keep it

off. And there’s no more crucial time to have a buddy on your

side than from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.

“During the holidays, you can use all the help you can get,”

says Alan Gettis, a nutritionist and clinical psychologist in

River Edge, N.J. “I urge my clients to get a full-time

year-round a buddy, it could be a husband or a wife, a neighbor

or a friend. I But don’t wait for the first feast to find a

buddy, says Holmberg, a nutritionist and behavioral

therapist in Oradell, N.J. “Once you start overeating, you

don’t want a “Buddy,” she says.

Buddies give you moral support and help you identify bad eating

habits and patterns because they have been there, too, she says.

“You may want to have more than one buddy,” she says. “You can

have one on the phone and one who exercises with you and goes

to parties with you. You can make deals with your buddy where

you both go to the party but only one of you goes through the

buffet line or where you agree to split one meal.”

Buddies also are like therapists and coaches, who listen to you

and keep you on the right path. “Your buddy should be a person

you can share your feelings with and rely on in a pinch without

fear that your feelings will be used as ammunition against you,”

Gettis says.

Holmberg says that using a “Buddy” is particularly helpful to

people who may be reluctant to change because those who sign on

can choose a either real-life buddy, someone in their

geographical area they can meet and exercise with, or select

someone to work with solely online or via the phone. “Sometimes

anonymity is good,” she says. “You are much more likely to try

it if you don’t have to meet the person.”

Gettis points out that with a “Buddy”, “you can find someone

with similar goals, and both of you can support each other.”

Buddies also take on active roles, getting you to stop a bad

habit and replace it with a healthy one. Gettis likens the

process to a marathon, where the runners are tempted to give up

before the 26th mile because it is so difficult to stay the

course. “The 18- to 19-mile mark is the crucial one,” he says.

“During a marathon I was once in, I came upon two guys running

– one was hurting, and the other was encouraging him to keep

running. I followed them for two to three miles, and the one

kept saying, ‘Leave me.’ The other kept saying, ‘I’m not going

to.’ And I thought, ‘What great friends!’ Then I heard the one

hurting say, ‘What’s your name?’”

Perhaps the most important role that buddies play is helping

plan strategies and then making sure that you make them work.

“They can teach you to take baby steps and to change your

environment,” Holmberg says. “For instance, they may suggest

that you keep sneakers in your trunk or put on your gym clothes

as you leave the office so you don’t have an excuse not to

exercise. They can call ahead to the party to check on the menu

and give you a low-cal recipe to bring so there’s at least one

thing that you can eat.”

Holmberg says that some of the changes are so simple that

people overlook them. A buddy may, for instance, suggest that

you get at the end of the buffet line so there is less food

available or help the host wash dishes because if your hands

are wet, you are less likely to nibble on the last remaining

crumbs from the serving dishes. “If you are asked to bring

dessert, your buddy may remind you not to make chocolate chip

cookies because the last time you ate a dozen cookies before

you brought them to the party and nibbled the chips while

baking and suggest that instead you make something like a pie

that can’t be nibbled because it is cut only when served.”

Buddies also can help you practice being assertive, not

aggressive to make significant changes in your diet and your

lifestyle. “By being assertive, you attack the task,” Gettis

says. “By being aggressive, you attack the person. You need to

stand your ground and in a firm but angry voice say: ‘I really

would appreciate it if you would not bring home anything

fattening. You may have had good intentions, but I’d feel

better if you didn’t do it again.’”

So don’t wait until you’re boxed in by back-to-back parties and

surrounded by wall-to-wall goodies to find a buddy. Make an

early New Year’s resolution to do it now, long before the

marathon feasts begin, Gettis says. “You have to be realistic,

so don’t count on losing 10 to 12 pounds during the holidays.

Don’t say you’ll lose 10 pounds during the holidays, and don’t

gain 10 either. And get someone to be your buddy for all 12

months of the year. You have nothing to lose – but weight.”

Copyright Weight Loss Buddy Press 2005

About The Author: Dweck is the Founder & CEO of

WeightLossBuddy.com a website committed to 24/7 support, expert

advice, and helping people find a buddy(s) who will support

their effort to lose weight, and live a healthier lifestyle.

And it's all Free. Sign up for the Free 4-Part E-Course “Losing

For Good” http://www.weightlossbuddy.com

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