Seven Steps to Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

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Seven Steps to Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

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The holidays are here and coming with them are the

traditional, seasonal foods we all know and love. Whether

it's turkey, ham, latkes, eggnog, or sugar cookies, rich

foods tend to work their way into our hearts and bellies

this time of year, as meals and as leftovers. For those

worrying about the seasonal seven, here are seven simple

tips for keeping off the holiday pounds.

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Distribution Date and Time: 2010-01-14 11:15:00

Written By: J. Price

Copyright: 2010

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Seven Steps to Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

Copyright © 2010 J. Price

Habit Changer

http://www.HabitChanger.com/

The holidays are here and coming with them are the traditional,

seasonal foods we all know and love. Whether it's turkey, ham,

latkes, eggnog, or sugar cookies, rich foods tend to work their

way into our hearts and bellies this time of year, as meals and

as leftovers. Almost invariably, these lead to talk of the

infamous 'seasonal seven,' the average amount of weight you

could gain over the holidays. There's a reason so many New

Year's resolutions involve losing weight and exercising more.

The interesting thing is that many of these concerns can be

avoided before the fact, rather than repented of later. For those

worrying about the seasonal seven, here are seven simple tips for

keeping off the holiday pounds.

Step 1: Make your decisions now, not then.

Lapses in willpower typically occur right at the moment of

temptation. We see something big and tasty, and decide that one

more helping couldn't hurt too much, and then we're surprised

when we've eaten half the dish. Fortunately, there's a trick

that you can use that will give your willpower a bit of an edge

when the time comes.

Set your limits before you go, maybe as much as a week in

advance. Remind yourself that you'll stick to just one small

serving of dessert, or that you'll use only a single spoon of

gravy instead of two. With the decision made beforehand, there's

less temptation to change it when at the table.

Step 2: Set your alcohol limits.

Holiday gatherings frequently involve alcoholic drinks, and these

are one of the sneakiest sources of holiday weight gain people

can consume. We don't often realize it, but alcoholic drinks do

contain numerous calories. A 12-ounce bottle of lager can easily

have 125-150 calories, depending on the brand. Having even two or

three beers is a big chunk of a 2,000-calorie diet, and we're

typically not in an exercising mood afterwards.

Fortunately, this is a fairly easy factor to control. Set

yourself a hard limit on alcoholic drinks before the

get-together, such as one serving with the meal, or one for the

New Year's Eve toast. If you find that people are trying to hand

you drinks when your hand is empty, carry around a glass of water

or juice so you can show them you're already set.

Step 3: Eat Slowly.

Remember all those holiday meals where you ate and ate, until you

suddenly felt so full you could barely breathe, let alone move?

Some experts suggest that we can actually eat past the point that

our stomach is reasonably full. Our stomachs are slow to send the

signal for 'full' to our brains sometimes, so we eat past the

point we should.

A way to avoid this is to simply slow down our eating at the

table. Take smaller portions to start with, and take the time to

enjoy them. Pause for a minute between servings, to let your

stomach 'catch up' so to speak. You'll find that you probably

consume fewer calories overall, while still enjoying everything

the meal has to offer.

Step 4: Eat Healthy.

This may sound like a herculean task, but there are many healthy,

delicious options open to us during holiday meals. Green beans,

corn, and cranberries often make it onto the traditional holiday

table, for example. Consider adding a few extra servings of these

sides to round out the heavier staples of the meal, for a sense

of fullness and some extra nutrition.

There are healthy drink alternatives as well. Consider replacing

your dinner soda or beer with a healthy juice cocktail. A

cranberry juice blend mixed with plain soda water is delicious

and healthy for you. Drink plenty of plain water as well, as it

will help with digestion and keep your body functioning

healthily.

Step 5: Exercise!

From the way some people talk, it would almost seem like there's

a prohibition on exercising over the holidays, but this simply is

not the case. Perhaps you don't have time to make it to the gym,

and that's understandable. But you probably do have a few

minutes to jog up the stairs and walk back down them once or

twice, just to get your heart rate up.

Additionally, there are traditionally family sporting events at

some holiday get-togethers. Consider organizing a quick round of

flag football or soccer before dinner. Your appetite will be

fired up, and you'll have burned off some of those holiday

calories in advance.

Step 6: Have a light snack.

Frequently, we try to wait to eat as long as possible before the

big meal, so we can save up room. This is actually one of the

best ways to gain extra weight, because we start packing in the

food with more gusto when we're hungrier. Consider a modest

snack a couple hours before the meal, such as an apple or a light

sandwich. The extra food will help you keep your resolution to

eat in moderation later.

Step 7: Get help.

Watching the holiday weight is harder to do when you have to do

it alone. Talk to your friends and family, and ask them to help

you watch what you eat. Ask the host if they'll make extra

veggies with the meal so you can stick to your healthy eating

plan, for example. Team up when you go for your exercise, and get

a partner for those short brisk walks around the block. Having a

little company will make it more enjoyable, and maybe a little

more effective.

Good luck, and Happy Holidays.

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J. Price is Director of Weight Management at

http://www.HabitChanger.com/ offering effective

and empowering solutions for losing weight.

Try our 42-day weight loss program at:

http://www.habitchanger.com/losingweight