According to a 2000 study by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the average American gains one or two pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. While this is not the five to seven pounds commonly believed to be gained over the holidays, the researchers found that people who consistently gain this weight each year may be more likely to suffer from obesity later in life.
Between the Christmas parties, goodies at the office, and New Year’s festivities, the opportunities to overindulge are endless. Therefore, it’s best to be prepared. Have a plan for keeping your calorie intake under control and celebrate the season without remorse.
Be Consistent in Your Eating Habits
A common strategy for tackling holiday spreads is to skip meals and snacks the day of a big event. Unfortunately, if you go to a party hungry, you’re likely to overeat in excess of the calories you avoided consuming throughout the day. Also, you do your metabolism a great disservice by skipping a meal: like a fire, if you don’t add fuel at regular intervals, it won’t burn at its brightest. In other words, continue to feed your body every three or four hours the day of a holiday function; just choose high-protein, high-fiber combos that are low-calorie, such as nonfat yogurt with berries.
If the event is in the evening, don’t go all afternoon without eating. Be sure to have a healthy snack late in the afternoon that will keep you satisfied into the evening, just as you should on any ordinary day. By keeping your eating consistent, you’ll be less likely to overdo it when presented with a large spread of food. And if you still end up stuffing yourself, it’s better to watch your overall calorie intake for a few days post-party than to starve yourself the day of.
Keep a Holiday Food Journal
Even the most diligent of us aren’t always aware of how many calories we take in daily. It’s difficult, then, to avoid overindulging at holiday parties when we think we have a little wiggle room. The only way to really know what we’re eating each day is to keep a food journal during the holiday season.
When recording what you’ve consumed each day, include when and how much you ate in addition to which foods. Don’t forget to track calories from beverages like lattes, soda, and alcoholic beverages. Then add up your total calorie count for each day (www.calorielab.com provides a free calorie counter). This will give you a good idea of how much you’ve taken in and therefore how much you can afford to indulge. If you’re serious about watching your weight this holiday season, a food journal is the best way to hold yourself accountable.
How to Navigate the Buffet Table
When you’re confronted with a spread of tempting holiday foods, it’s easy to want to take a little of everything. Here’s where it helps to be prepared. First, know which foods are the most and least calorie-dense: anything baked, fried, rolled in dough (think pigs in a blanket), creamy, or cheesy is not your friend, while veggie-based dips like salsa and hummus, bacon-wrapped asparagus or dates, and crudités are relatively innocuous.
Second, if you must indulge, be selective: rather than take a little of everything, choose small portions of only the foods you can’t live without. And if you know that exercising self-control will be next to impossible, eat a healthy dinner right before going to the party and hope you’ll be too full to stuff yourself silly with spinach dip.
Finally, use common sense. Accepting a brownie at your office Christmas party won’t sabotage your diet. But eat 5 brownies and you may be likely to put off your healthy-eating efforts until after January 1. Whichever you do, don’t beat yourself up over it---just try to eat balanced meals over the next few days, and don’t abandon your workouts, as exercise will help keep you motivated to stay on track.
Shelby Miller - A 2007 grad of DePaul University's MA in Writing program, Shelby is a newly minted freelance writer. Her undergraduate degree in ...
