HOLIDAY WEIGHT MANAGEMENT TIPS
Posted by Lauren Knopf on Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The most popular weight management strategy for the holidays is, "Well, I'll stuff myself over the holidays, then worry about it after New Years." Great mentality! Worry about everything after January 1st...if you try hard enough, you might not even fit into half your Christmas presents, then your goal could be to lose enough weight to return to your pre-Christmas size!
OR you could set yourself up for a really successful New Year by taking care of yourself RIGHT NOW. Here are some tips to enjoying your holidays without losing out or gaining weight.
1. Take part in activities during the holidays - meet friends for a walk, go last minute shopping (without coffee breaks), join the kids for some outdoor activities.
2. Don't turn down all the holiday treats (that's kind of insulting to your hosts, isn't it) but cut out what you can: limit yourself to just one drink, and choose wisely, which means light beers, a glass of wine, and no mixed drinks!
3. Choose one dessert - "Pie, cake or cookies? I'll have a little bit of everything!" If you'd like a side of diabetes with that, or some size 40 pants, go for it.
4. Boycott the Starbucks! Why on EARTH should a cup of coffee yield 800+ calories?? That's a meal! Those things are also expensive, and didn't you just spend hundreds on your relatives and friends?
5. Scrap the "World of Warcraft" and get your kids Kinect, Wii...you know, those interactive exercisie-type video games. Believe it or not, they're really fun and a workout!
6. If you're not the host, don't take the leftovers!
7. At Christmas and New Years parties, don't position yourself in the kitchen, near the food. Take a small plate, pile it up, and walk away!
8. Your regular meal times may change during the holidays, so keep track of what you're eating, and how you feel. If you're going to three Christmas parties in one day, it's okay to say, "No thank you, I already ate", and comment on the beautiful tree or something off-topic of food.
9. Don't compare yourself to those "hateful skinny people" - develop a goal weight for yourself that is attainable for you, and don't let others discourage you from that. Everybody is built differently, and even "skinny -----'s" have problems.
10. Don't hate on yourself! If you over do it, get over it, but don't give up! There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat...chances are you didn't over do it THAT badly. But if you give up and continue to binge throughout the holidays, you may seriously threaten your nutrition.
...Notice I didn't list the top fattening holiday foods...don't take a calculator with you to your holiday parties to count how bad you've been. Just enjoy yourself - and remember, Christmas isn't the celebration of the birth of pastry, it's a religious holiday, so perhaps you can immerse yourself in something other than calories.
OR you could set yourself up for a really successful New Year by taking care of yourself RIGHT NOW. Here are some tips to enjoying your holidays without losing out or gaining weight.
1. Take part in activities during the holidays - meet friends for a walk, go last minute shopping (without coffee breaks), join the kids for some outdoor activities.
2. Don't turn down all the holiday treats (that's kind of insulting to your hosts, isn't it) but cut out what you can: limit yourself to just one drink, and choose wisely, which means light beers, a glass of wine, and no mixed drinks!
3. Choose one dessert - "Pie, cake or cookies? I'll have a little bit of everything!" If you'd like a side of diabetes with that, or some size 40 pants, go for it.
4. Boycott the Starbucks! Why on EARTH should a cup of coffee yield 800+ calories?? That's a meal! Those things are also expensive, and didn't you just spend hundreds on your relatives and friends?
5. Scrap the "World of Warcraft" and get your kids Kinect, Wii...you know, those interactive exercisie-type video games. Believe it or not, they're really fun and a workout!
6. If you're not the host, don't take the leftovers!
7. At Christmas and New Years parties, don't position yourself in the kitchen, near the food. Take a small plate, pile it up, and walk away!
8. Your regular meal times may change during the holidays, so keep track of what you're eating, and how you feel. If you're going to three Christmas parties in one day, it's okay to say, "No thank you, I already ate", and comment on the beautiful tree or something off-topic of food.
9. Don't compare yourself to those "hateful skinny people" - develop a goal weight for yourself that is attainable for you, and don't let others discourage you from that. Everybody is built differently, and even "skinny -----'s" have problems.
10. Don't hate on yourself! If you over do it, get over it, but don't give up! There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat...chances are you didn't over do it THAT badly. But if you give up and continue to binge throughout the holidays, you may seriously threaten your nutrition.
...Notice I didn't list the top fattening holiday foods...don't take a calculator with you to your holiday parties to count how bad you've been. Just enjoy yourself - and remember, Christmas isn't the celebration of the birth of pastry, it's a religious holiday, so perhaps you can immerse yourself in something other than calories.