Healthy During the Holidays

The holiday season has hit with the force of a tornado.  Welcome to the most hectic 6-8 weeks of the year.  Thanksgiving through New Years’ can be a destructive force for health conscience people.  For those that are not health conscience, this often leads into a tremendous amount of guilt come January.  Born from this guilt will be a new round of “resolutioners” packing fitness centers and gyms across the country until the end of February when they drop off due to a lack of success.  That is a topic for another day.  Here are some key things to keep in mind for the next several weeks so that you are guilt-free in January.  There are two primary reasons that people eat more during this time of year: social obligations revolve around food and stress from over-commitment or pressure to "pull it off' with the organizing and attending of social events.

Parties happen, family get-together's happen, and schedules fill quickly.  Most people probably feel obligated to attend far more parties than they would like.  Pick one or two and say no.  If the stress of attending is outweighing the enjoyment of going it is not worth it.  Emotional stress leads to stress eating and weight-gain.  Skip the stressful situations. Focus on and enjoy the important ones.
 Limit the seasonal coffee drinks.  Everyone has their favorite holiday season drink, have it once or twice, but not every day.  One drink at the coffee shop can add up 600 calories per day to your diet. A 16oz (Grande) Starbucks Peppermint Mocha is 410 calories, 15g fat, 63g carbs (of which 54g are straight sugar), 13g protein.
Shopping can be a stressful experience so avoid the food court at the mall because nothing served there will help you feel better or become healthier. Park as far away from the doors as possible: extra walking equals extra calories burned.Take the stairs, most people can burn an extra 50-100 calories per day this way. It may not seem like much but 50-100 calories per day over the next 30 days will keep off an extra ½ to 1 lb.

Survive the party-day

·    At the party

o   Do not stand near the food; if it is out of sight, it is out of mind.  People eat more in social settings than when at home, so keep your distance from the food, and keep your figure.

o   Minimize the amount of time spent talking with people that are eating.  Again, if you can see food you will want it.

o   Have one drink for toasting and only sip it during the toasting.  Most people drink far more calories than they realize.  A serving of light beer averages 130 calories, wine 150 calories, and hard liquor 120 calories.

o   Drink water when not toasting.

o   If dinner is served focus on meat, fruit, and vegetables.

·         After the party

o   Drink 16 oz. of water before going to bed.  This will help flush out the junk in the morning.  It may also help prevent a hangover is too much alcohol was consumed at the party.

o   Get a full eight to nine hours of sleep, especially if you partied too hard.

Holiday Season weight gain is optional, not inevitable. The solution is pretty simple. People tend to consume more calories this time of year and increased physical activity is the only way to offset that. This does not necessarily mean that a person needs to double the amount of time spent in the gym. However, it does mean that a health conscious person does need to take every opportunity to avoid sitting and get moving. In reality the most guaranteed way to avoid Holiday weight gain is be more concerned about what happens other 48 weeks of the year than what happens during the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years. Consistency throughout the entire year will offset a short few weeks.