Food is all around us this time of year. How can we enjoy this season and not gain a lot of weight? Before we answer that, let's examine a couple of holiday eating myths:
Stay away from the sweets, and you will not gain extra weight. OK, that's actually true calorie-wise. However, the bigger picture is that you will eventually feel deprived if you don't allow yourself to taste what everyone else around you is enjoying. Several of my clients have told me they actually gained weight by eating a multitude of other healthy foods in a valiant attempt to deter their craving for that cookie or piece of fudge - and they ended up eating the candy anyway and consuming more calories.
The average person gains between five to 10 pounds over the holidays. A study in The New England Journal of Medicine measured the body weight of 195 men and women over the course of the year, and it reported that the average weight gain from mid-November to mid-January was less than one pound! Only 10 percent of the participants gained five pounds or more. What's more, the study showed that weight gain during the holiday season was significantly greater than one pound before and after the holidays. Unfortunately, holiday weight-gain was not lost during the course of the year.
The study helps us realize that it is important to watch your eating habits just before Halloween and after the New Year. This makes sense when you think about people who purchase candy way ahead of time and end up eating most of it before kids show up at the door. And with the pressures of getting fit in the New Year, many lose interest in the gym after the initial January onslaught and slink back into the same unproductive, self-defeating lifestyle habits. To avoid gaining weight, you need to be mindful about two major culprits that make us vulnerable to food:
Stress. Family conflicts, traveling and financial worries can send us into an eating frenzy like never before. Yet, we can prepare ourselves ahead of time by finding ways other than the buffet table to reduce our anxiety, like removing ourselves from the stressor, engaging in calming thoughts or images and just taking in a few deep breaths. It works.
Alcohol. At most gatherings, holidays and drinking go hand in hand, and people freely indulge in their favorite spirits. But when we're loopy, we really could care less about what we put into our mouths - including the alcohol calories.
The bottom line is that calories in vs. calories out is what matters. Staying with a regular fitness routine will allow you to indulge a bit more freely at social gatherings. At home, eat a bowl of fiber-laden cereal before a holiday get-together. Alter recipes to make them healthier without sacrificing taste. Everyone eventually ends up in the kitchen at parties, yet enjoying the company of family and friends with lively talk can help distract you away from food and end up being the best source of holiday cheer ever.
Linda Castor, RN, LCPC, is a nurse and therapist at Clocktower Therapy Center who specializes in wellness and several areas of psychotherapy. Castor can be reached at www.lindacastor.com.
