The Pains of Holiday Gains

I could only assume that many people gain weight around the holiday season. With Thanksgiving-- the holiday intended to gorge yourself till you have to change into sweatpants because your jeans suddenly don't fit anymore, and Christmas-- the time of year for all the yummy treats and sweets! I decided to look into this theory more to see whether my hypothesis was indeed correct for the average American (or whether it was just true for me!). After reading recent articles from The New York Times and from CNN Health I learned that some Americans gain 5 to 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the average person gains 1 pound. However they did mention that individuals who are already overweight tend to gain more than 1 pound during this festive time of year.

My hope is that during this season I do not gain weight, not even one pound like the average American. I would love to lose weight this month, but if I can manage to at least not gain weight in December I will be pleased. I am not technically dieting. I am eating better and making healthier choices, but I have learned that when I "diet" I get psychologically frustrated and have a hard time being successful in my endeavors. So instead, I don't "diet" I just eat better. I don't eat out as much, I don't drink soda, I only eat 1 cookie instead of 4. With all this being said, I don't plan to deprive myself of the holiday yummies. But rather, I will eat smaller portions less frequently.

I found a great article from Health Guidance, which outlines 5 tips for keeping the weight off during the holidays. They are as follows:

#1 Drink Water-- And Lots of It!

#2 Increase Your Exercise a Little Bit Every Day

#3 Cut Back Where You Can at Other Meals

#4 Eat What You Like-- But Only a Few Bites

#5 Don't Eat After 7:00pm

Enjoy those Christmas cookies!! (But don't forget your sit-ups that night ;) )