THE HOLIDAYS ARE ALMOST HERE!!
5 Ways to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain
Professional Health & Fitness Solutions
Here are a few tips for those of you out there who are nervous about the upcoming holiday season and what it might do to your waistline!
1. Plan to step up your exercise routine rather than stepping down... Many people get very busy during the holiday season and the first thing that disappears off the "to do" list is their daily workout! Considering the temptations that we are subjected to during the holidays with candy, cookies, and other baked goods, the last thing you want to do is skip that daily calorie burn. If you typically burn 500 calories per workout, try to step it up to 700-800 during the holiday season. This can help stave off any weight gain that might result from a lack of willpower in the food department! Keep in mind, upping your calorie burn is NOT a license to eat whatever you want. One Christmas cookie is approximately 100-150 calories, so you still need to be VERY careful with your little indulgences. If you aren't currently on a daily exercise routine, see tip #2 below...
2. Don't Procrastinate!!
Whether it's conscious or unconscious, as the end of the year approaches, people have a tendency to push off their "start date" for their new workout/nutrition program until the new year. Maybe it's because that's what everyone else does...in that case, let me remind you that over 66% of the American population is either overweight or obese. Are those really the people you want to model your habits after? If you've been wanting to get started on a new fitness/nutrition routine, just do it! Keep in mind that losing weight over the holiday season is absolutley possible, but it's not easy. Be very conservative when setting your weight loss goals during the holiday season, or just plan to maintain over the holidays. The average American gains 5-10 pounds over the holidays, so by maintaining, you'll be way ahead of the game come New Years!!
3. Follow the 90/10 rule...
To successfully maintain your weight, it is important to make sure that your meals are nutritionally sound at least 90% of the time.
Note: Simply staying away from sweets and the fast food restaurants DOES NOT mean that your meals are nutritionally sound. In most cases, "trying to eat healthy" does not work...you will need to follow some sort of nutritional program. I recommend the FirstLine Therapy Program for long-term nutritional changes.
If you follow your nutritional program 90% of the time during the holiday season and you exercise daily, you should have no problem maintaining your weight, and you may even lose a couple pounds if you follow tip #1! Now lets do the math... if we only count the main meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner (you should have 2-3 small snacks between these meals as well), that's 21 meals per week. 90% of 21 meals is approximately 19, which means that you only get to veer off track with 2 meals per week, so keep this in mind when attending holiday parties and functions.
4. Eat what you want, slowly, and less of it...
This applies mainly to the holidays themselves: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years... My steadfast rule: eat whatever you want, just eat VERY small portions. If you can finish a holiday dinner without feeling like you're stuffed to the gills, then you're one step closer to fending off holiday pounds! Another tip with regards to the holiday dinners is to eat slowly, this will give you time to feel full before you have time to stuff more yummy food in your face!! :o)
5. Don't skip your workout the day of the big holiday dinner!!
I don't want to hear any excuses here...there are lots of people who make exercise a priority on Thanksgiving and Christmas days...be one of them! I don't care if you have to get up at 5 a.m. and go for a walk in 2 feet of snow - do it! Actually, walking in the snow is great exercise!! Do you want to be one of those people who gains 5-10 pounds over the holidays? (Hopefully the answer is no....) Well, prove it!
by Renee Sobering
APEX Personal Training
