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Home and Family > Holidays > Mirth Without Girth: 7 Tips to Avoid Weight Gain and the Holiday Seven
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Karen Cohen
Holiday weight gain is not a mandate from Santa’s elves…really.
Although “Season’s Eatings” seems a more apropos salutation this time
of year, it is possible to enjoy yourself and avoid putting on surplus
pounds. The average person gains seven pounds between
Thanksgiving and New Year’s, but you don’t have to. By becoming very
aware of your own holiday indulgence tendencies, you can then create
a detailed plan to support your weight management goals. When it
comes to holiday weight gain, an ounce of prevention is worth 7 pounds
of New Year’s-Resolution cure.
The two main strategies to use to avoid gaining extra weight over the
holiday’s are 1) Become Selective and, 2) Have a Plan. These
strategies have a general application as well as specific influence on
challenges like parties and family get-togethers. However great your
plan is, it is less than worthless if you don’t stick to it. Be clear with your
motivations to set the goal. Consider that by adhering to 2,000 calories a
day rather than 4,000, you will go a long way in avoiding the 25,000
extra calories that is seven pounds.
Creating Your Plan - The first part of your plan has to be about
setting some ground rules…
- Eat when you are hungry, not to comfort yourself emotionally.
Acknowledge and plan for the paradox of holiday expectations versus
disappointment and loneliness as well as both the joy and conflict family
reunions can bring. Take steps to nurture and care for yourself in
definite (and non-edible) ways.
- Plan as many social activities that you can that are not food
oriented. Consider skating, sledding, caroling, or crafting. Winter nature
walks, playing board games, and musical jam sessions are other ideas
to play with.
- Keep your meal schedule on track. Even if your meals are richer
than usual now and then, keep your meal times regular and you will be
better off. Whatever you do, do not skip meals to compensate. This
almost always backfires, producing more cravings, and lowered
resistance to temptation later on. You will be much more successful if
you eat a light and nutritious breakfast and lunch the day of a social
event. Keep well stocked up on low-fat nutritious snacks and munchies
at home.
- Eat slowly and savor your food. Bring your attention to your
eating…become mindful. Pay attention to your body while you are
eating. Notice whether you are feeling nervous or tense or thirsty.
Determine if you are truly hungry and want to eat.
The remainder of your plan is built on your choices after you engage the
second strategy: Become Selective.
- Decide
which occasions and foods are really special to you and
plan those into your holiday schedule. Attend only the parties and eat
only the foods that are most important to the tradition of the holidays.
You can eat a handful of cocktail peanuts or chocolate chip cookies
anytime, seek out the distinctive holiday treats and invest your calories
for maximum pleasure.
- Sample, don’t gorge. The enjoyment of tasting foods comes in the
first few bites. Savor the flavors and the company. Make a two-bite rule,
and if you begin to get caught up in eating, take a tour of the house, step
outside for a few minutes, or strike up conversation at the opposite side
of the room.
- Planning for Parties - In addition to the previous points,
parties call for specific selections and plans. Revisit the strategy of
deciding in advance what you will and will not eat. Remember not to
skip meals beforehand and if possible, to eat something light and
nourishing, like soup, right before the party.
- Limit your enjoyment of alcoholic drinks. Not only are they
calorie dense, but alcohol will also weaken your clarity and resolve to
maintain your plan.
- Position yourself away from the buffet table,
visit with people who are not eating, and cover your plate with your
napkin when you are through.
- Fill your plate up really full of
healthy foods like vegetables, salad greens, fruits and slices of lean
meat.
- Finally, be polite, not nice. Rehearse ahead of time how
you gracefully will say “no” to offers of homemade foods you really don’t
want to eat.
Becoming more aware of your holiday celebration characteristics, you
can create a plan that maximizes your strengths and minimizes your
weaknesses. Managing your weight during the holidays is not without
hope or doomed to deprivation. Avoiding the ‘holiday seven’ can be as
simple as embracing these seven simple tips. Create holiday mirth
without the extra girth this year.
© 2005 Karen B. Cohen. All Rights Reserved.
Karen B. Cohen C.L.C. RYT500 is a wellness coach and master yoga
instructor, writer and speaker residing in a college town in rural Virginia.
Karen leads people to their own limitless supply of creativity and vitality
so that they can express their talent and abilities fully in the world. She
incorporates her expertise in mind-body techniques to work with a wide
spectrum of clients. Karen provides seminars and workshops, as well as
individual coaching and training, nationally and internationally. For
more information go to KarenCohenYoga.blogspot.com and RockbridgeCoaching.blogspot.com
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