CNN posted a very timely article today about exercising through the holidays. It talks about how important it is NOT to wait until the holidays are over to 'get back on track'; rather, staying on plan as much as possible will help to nip any weight gain in the bud. It's SO much easier to prevent the weight gain in the first place than to have to face taking off extra pounds once 2005 rolls around.
Studies have shown that weight gained over the holidays tends to stick around in the New Year, despite everyone's good resolutions to re-start diets on January 1 or whatever date is circled on your calendar. National Weight Control Registry surverys have shown that the most successful weight loss maintainers generally don't give themselves weekends off or diet vacations - they tend to stick to their same exercise and eating plans through the holidays, as much as is practicable. They may ease up for Christmas dinner, for example, but not for Christmas breakfast ... and certainly not the next day ... or the next. Or they may indulge at a party, but they're putting in extra time in the gym the next day.
I highlighted a section near the end about making a contract with yourself ahead of festive events - a great strategy that I'm going to try myself this week. Instead of falling into that trap that 'I'll eat whatever I want now but promise I'll start my diet again on ___ date' (because - as we all know - 'tomorrow' never comes), I'll think about what I really want to eat and then figure out how much exercise it will take to counter it. Hmmm ... might not even be very tempting to overeat once I know what the price tag is!
Quote:
Eat What You Want, But Don't Neglect Exercise
Some recommend specific activities to burn off indulgences
Hankering for another slice of fruitcake? Hoping it doesn't go to your hips? Better start twiddling your thumbs, tapping your feet and talking with your hands.
That's because fidgeting burns calories -- as many as several hundred a day. And since you probably won't eat fewer treats during the holidays, it's time to start thinking about how you're going to move more.
We're not talking about extra trips to the gym, and nobody expects you to get buff by January. But add some effort to your daily routine and you might also be able to add that second slice of fruitcake.
One reason so many people gain weight this time of year is that they focus only on what not to eat while ignoring what they should be doing -- anything that ups their physical activity.
Something as simple as a 10-minute walk -- even at the mall -- can burn as much as 100 calories. And researchers have found that people who remain active during the holidays are the least likely to gain weight.
"That suggests you can get away with eating the way you want to if you continue exercising," said Amy O'Connor, deputy editor of Prevention magazine. "The problem is you stop exercising and you overeat."
Take it one step at a time, literally, says Ann Yelmokas McDermott, a nutrition scientist at Tufts University. Park your car at the far end of the lot, skip the elevator, and carry your bundles to the car -- it's cardio- and weight-training in one.
And even though your shopping schedule may be squeezing your workouts, she urges you to keep your date with the gym. Even shortened or lethargic workouts are better than sitting in front of the television.
Changing around your usual fitness routine can help, too. If you normally use a stationary bike at the gym, instead be a bit more seasonal -- pack up the kids, rent some skates and head to the rink or a nearby pond.
Even buying a Christmas tree can be a workout. Most farms that let you cut your own require you to tromp through the woods in search of that perfect evergreen. Nothing like a hike on a cold day to burn calories.
Dr. Robert Kushner, a professor of medicine at Northwest University, encourages people to use the increasingly ubiquitous pedometer to track their daily steps and motivate them to take more.
"It gives people a sense of control on how to burn calories," he said.
O'Connor's favorite suggestion for getting motivated to get moving is a daily look in the mirror. Naked.
Mike Ryan, a spokesman and trainer for Gold's Gym, thinks of holiday fitness as part of a contract with yourself. Sort out in advance how you will behave (including indulgences) and how you will deal with that.
Make the contract specific. For example, decide that for each slice of pie you will do two laps around the block or 30 minutes of fast-paced shopping at the mall. This lets you indulge without guilt because you have a plan for dealing with it.
But make sure your contract doesn't contain the I'll-wait-until-January clause. Ryan says few things doom a diet like a month or two of no-holds-barred eating.
It also helps to think of food in terms of activity. Equate treats with the effort needed to burn them off and you might be less tempted to indulge. Or you'll at least know what's in store for you tomorrow.
Want a slice of pumpkin pie? Feel like swimming for 50 minutes? A sugar cookie is easy -- 20 minutes of yoga should do the trick. But a cup of stuffing will have you shoveling snow for 40 minutes.
Hmmm...shopping for two hours for a piece of fruitcake? or is that the whole fruitcake I think I'll pass on the fruitcake and bank my calorie deficit for a glass of vino.
I couldn't agree more about making a contract with yourself to stay on plan, even if that plan includes a few treat meals. Don't just "wing it" and hope for the best: plan, visualize, and have a back-up plan. No steamed fish on the menu? Don't just throw up your arms and order fettucinni alfredo instead. Make the better choices. Gym closed and you didn't expect it? There's a world of exercise equipment in your own home; a good sturdy chair provides plenty of support for body weight squats and dips, the floor is there for pushups, turn on the cd player and dance!
Or go out on Dec. 26 and shop til ya drop!
National Weight Control Registry surverys have shown that the most successful weight loss maintainers generally don't give themselves weekends off or diet vacations - they tend to stick to their same exercise and eating plans through the holidays, as much as is practicable. They may ease up for Christmas dinner, for example, but not for Christmas breakfast ... and certainly not the next day ... or the next. Or they may indulge at a party, but they're putting in extra time in the gym the next day.
That's exactly my strategy! Trust me, I've done it both ways - I can easily gain 10+ pounds between Halloween and New Year's if I just say "to **** with it, I'm just gonna eat whatever is in front of me...after all, it's the HOLIDAYS!"
And then spend the better part of 3 months dieting it off. Sorry, 'taint worth it to me...I've never been one for New Year's resolutions, they've never worked for me personally!
And if I'm gonna do an extra hour of cardio...it AIN'T gonna be for fruitcake. EWWW!
I posted this at Maintainers today, but felt it belonged here as well...
Jim and I finally saw "Super Size Me" last night on DVD...for those of you who haven't yet seen it, I highly recommend it (especially now during the "eating season"). Briefly, the film documents Morgan Spurlock's 30 days of eating nothing but McDonald's food - he started out as a very healthy and fit 185 pounds (6'1" tall) and at the end of his 'experiment' was up to 210 lbs.
TWENTY FIVE POUNDS in THIRTY DAYS of overeating.
So...he's a fit guy (I don't know his background, but just from looking at him, he appears to be someone who's never had a weight problem). How long do you think it would take him to lose that weight? His girlfriend was a vegan chef and had already planned a vegan recovery diet regimen for him to begin following afterwards. So you think he'd drop the weight really, really quickly - after all any of us gals who've either gone to WW or dieted with significant others or what have you know that the guys generally tend to drop the pounds much, much quicker than us femmes.
According to the end of the film - it took him MONTHS to lose that 25 pounds that he gained in just ONE month - about the same time frame as the big monthlong feast between Thanksgiving and Christmas...
Just something to think about next time you pass that box of chocolates on your coworker's desk or that tin of sugar cookies in the office kitchen - instead of "oh what the heck, it's the holidays - I'll start all nice and fresh right after Christmas!" Why not start NOW and JUST SAY NO to the treats, except for special occasions? (and by "special occasions" I mean a dinner or party or something, not a three-week 'special occasion'...) Think about it - read the article Meg posted here and consider...do you really want to spend extra time working off that cookie or that chocolate? Is a quick moment of sweetness worth all those minutes of cardio (on top of what you ALREADY do of course...)?
Just something to think about next time you pass that box of chocolates on your coworker's desk or that tin of sugar cookies in the office kitchen - instead of "oh what the heck, it's the holidays - I'll start all nice and fresh right after Christmas!" Why not start NOW and JUST SAY NO to the treats, except for special occasions? (and by "special occasions" I mean a dinner or party or something, not a three-week 'special occasion'...) Think about it - read the article Meg posted here and consider...do you really want to spend extra time working off that cookie or that chocolate? Is a quick moment of sweetness worth all those minutes of cardio (on top of what you ALREADY do of course...)?
Well said. I fully believe in participating and celebrating during the holiday season and consider this essential for having a full and happy life. This includes eating and enjoying selected rich goodies (in moderation, and only the absolute best of the lot -- NOT fruitcake!) in addition to the rest of the holiday hoopla. This does not mean overeating, but rather savoring something really good. And as MrsJim says, there are very few special occasions during the holidays were eating is an essential aspect - perhaps a handful of parties plus the actual holidays, not day to day mindless goodies for the approx. 35 days between Thanksgiving and New Years day.
Ya gotta pick your holiday spots carefully, and the rest of the time eat less to accommodate those carefully chosen 8 to 10 special parties and dinners so at the end of the year it all balances out. Assuming one eats 3 meals/day, If you choose beforehand 10 occasions during the long season where you can have 'goodies', that leaves about 95 other meals (35+35+25) plus snacks where you can eat abit less to compensate. Of course this is easy to say, and harder to do with all manner of candy and cookies lying about, but that is the whole point. Think 'Consistency'. I thankfully did this year.
I am currently re-losing the pounds I re-gained over the past two years, and absolutely am hating that I allowed it to happen. In 8 more pounds, I will have re-lost the same 25 pounds I struggled so hard to lose a couple years ago. At my loss rate of about one pound/week, that will have taken about 6 months. A half of a freaking year! What a waste of perfectly good time and effort to have to re-do something I had already done once with difficulty. Of course I have learned a whole lot from it, including afew essential kernals of wl truth, but none the less.....
Staying On Track During The Holidays
National Weight Control Registry surverys have shown that the most successful weight loss maintainers generally don't give themselves weekends off or diet vacations - they tend to stick to their same exercise and eating plans through the holidays, as much as is practicable. They may ease up for Christmas dinner, for example, but not for Christmas breakfast ... and certainly not the next day ... or the next. Or they may indulge at a party, but they're putting in extra time in the gym the next day.
Hmmm ... might not even be very tempting to overeat once I know what the price tag is! 
