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HOW NOT TO LET THE HOLIDAYS GET THE BETTER OF YOU!
The holiday season is upon us, and our efforts to eat healthy are challenged on a daily basis. So how does one go about enjoying the holidays without gaining an enormous amount of weight?
First, I think it’s important to recognize that if you “pigged out” on every major holiday — Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day, the most you would probably gain is about 2 pounds. The reason I say this is that if you ate an additional 1,000 calories over and above what you normally eat to maintain your present weight on each of these holidays, you would have ingested only an additional 6,000 calories for the entire year. Since there are 3,600 calories in one pound, the 6,000 calories represents less than 2 pounds.
The problem, however, is that too many people “pig out” from Thanksgiving to Christmas and then make a New Year’s resolution to lose the weight. Well, if you ate an extra 1,000 calories daily from Thanksgiving to Christmas, you will have consumed 34,000 additional calories. If we divide those additional 34,000 calories by 3,600, we get almost 9½ pounds. A big difference from the barely 2 pounds, if we only overeat on each of the individual holidays. Additionally, you could add another 2 pounds to that figure if you were to overeat daily through New Year’s.
So, the lesson is; indulge yourself on the holidays, but not between them. Give yourself permission to really enjoy all that wonderful food that your family and friends have gone to great lengths to provide. Truly eat and be merry and maybe do that little bit extra while exercising the following week.
When you have all those Christmas parties to go to, don’t over indulge each time, but remember, since you should be eating five small meals a day, you can make those parties fit into your eating schedule. Want to enjoy those Christmas cookies or cake? Make it one of your meals — or two if the party lasts long enough. But remember, if you are having a drink, those calories count too!
You too can get through the holidays without gaining any really significant weight.