‘Tis the season to be jolly…and
chunky, pudgy, and portly. For almost six
weeks, we’re tempted and tantalized
by smorgasbords of gooey sweets and other
calorie-laden goodies at work, parties, and
those never-ending family get-togethers.
It’s no wonder that we wind up five
to seven pounds chubbier by the time New
Year’s "rolls" around. If
you want extra winter padding, follow our
weight loss
"tips" —but if you prefer
staying sleek, read the truth about these
so-called foolproof strategies:
Foolproof
Weight Gain Tip #1:
Skip breakfast and lunch to save calories
for that holiday bash.
Bad idea, says registered dietician
Christine Palumbo.
"You can lighten up on your eating during
the day of the party, but don’t starve," she
cautions.
"You’ll go overboard once you
get there."
Don’t head immediately for the buffet
table as soon as you walk through the door. "Plan
an eating strategy before you go," says
Palumbo. "Think about what you’ll
eat ahead of time and visualize yourself
eating modest portions." And if do splurge,
do it on holiday treats like your grandma’s
special rum cake instead of things like peanuts
that you can eat anytime.
Foolproof Tip #2:
Abandon your regular workout schedule.
Yeah, you’re busy. That’s no
excuse—the best way to keep from gaining
weight during the holidays is to maintain
your exercise routine, says Dr. Cheryl Norton,
an exercise physiologist and professor at
Metropolitan State College of Denver. Even
if you can’t keep to your regular schedule,
some exercise is worlds better than none.
"When you exercise, you’re using
calories at a much higher rate than if you’re
sitting around," says Norton.
"Exercise is very metabolically active
and creates heat. Because of its thermodynamic
effect, you’ll actually be burning
more calories even after exercise than if
you’d done nothing." No, you won’t
burn off your Thanksgiving dinner on the
treadmill that night, but you will dampen
its effect. Best of all, research suggests
that regular exercise may help moderate your
appetite so that you actually eat less than
the average couch potato.
Foolproof Tip #3:
Vow to resist all temptation.
So you’ve sworn that nothing fattening
will cross your lips for the next six weeks.
Lighten up! Besides the fact that you’ll
totally annoy your friends if you refuse
to consume anything but carrot sticks, you’re
setting yourself up for failure. Forget about
trying to diet—focus on maintaining
it instead. "People can get very overstressed
about gaining weight over the holidays," says
registered dietician Susan Kleiner, author
of Power Eating (Human Kinetics, 1998) and
High Performance Sports Nutrition (John Wiley
and Sons, 1996). "You don’t want
this to be a painful time. You should enjoy
yourself." Besides, she adds,
"part of socializing is eating. If you’re
a party pooper and don’t eat, then
you don’t get the enjoyment out of
it. Instead of socializing, all you’re
thinking about is that you’re not eating."
Foolproof Tip # 4:
Slurp a few drinks to get in the holiday
spirit.
Skip the spirits to stay in the spirit.
Alcohol is a double-edged sword—it not only
diminishes inhibitions (a bad idea at the
office party!)—it also makes you hungry. "The
more alcohol you drink, you’re not
only getting more calories but also weakening
any resolve you might have had," warns
Kleiner. So abstain or alternate your alcoholic
drinks with non-alcoholic ones. And remember,
alcohol isn’t calorie-free—every
glass of wine or beer adds at least 100 calories,
every cup of egg nog, another 300.
Foolproof Tip #5:
Embrace an all or nothing attitude.
Two words—Portion Control! Just because
you had a couple of crab cakes doesn’t
mean polishing off the platter. A cookie
or two is fine—a dozen is way more
than you need. Watching your portions will
let you eat what you want to without feeling
deprived. Take one or two bites of the things
you really want to have—the first bite
tastes the best anyway—and concentrate
on savoring the food. You’ll eat less—and
enjoy it more.
Foolproof Tip #6:
Sacrifice sleep to keep up with the festivities.
Believe it or not, not getting enough shut-eye
can cause weight gain. "People who are
up longer tend to eat more," says Michael
Meyers, associate professor of sports physiology
at the University of Houston.
"And interrupting your REM sleep can
affect your natural circadian rhythms which
control metabolism. As a result, you may
get hungrier earlier."
Palumbo agrees that foregoing your ZZZZs
usually backfires. "I have clients who
cheat on their sleep requirements, thinking
that they’ll get more done that way," she
says.
"But they cheat themselves. They function
more poorly during the day and wind up eating
more calories for energy." Get enough
sleep, and you’ll boost your energy—and
your willpower.
Foolproof Tip #7:
Expect too much.
Forget "It’s a Wonderful Life".
The holidays are a rough time for many of
us, and you want to make them as painless
as possible. That means not taking on more
than you can handle and making time for yourself—you’ll
be less likely to turn feel overwhelmed and
turn to a pint of Ben and Jerry’s for
comfort. "You need to give yourself
some positive strokes," says Norton.
"One of the best ways to do that is
to exercise—it’s not only normal
and natural but you feel better, look better,
and you get a more positive self-image. You
don’t want to give that up when you
may be deluged by the media telling you what
you should be doing and how you should be
feeling over the holidays."
Foolproof Tip #8:
Rationalize that the holidays only come
once a year.
But that’s no excuse to go hog wild.
A little damage control can keep a few innocent
indulgences from blooming into an extra-large
butt. Remember, the holidays will eventually
be over. Keep your memories in your photo
albums—not your thighs.
