Are you worried about holiday weight gain? Well, it’s true, an incredible amount of people put on weight over the holiday period. The ones that don’t often don’t enjoy themselves because they are scared of putting on weight. Can’t win right? Wrong
Through timing your eating better and picking the right foods (plus a few little secrets I’ll share with you), you can avoid packing on the pounds and enjoy yourself while doing it!
Average Weight Gain During Holidays
Over Christmas we gain on average nearly 2.2lbs of body weight – and that is just Xmas, let alone the entire holiday period.
With all the sweets and extra helping of carb rich goodies being gulped down with eggnog and delicious cocktails, wines and beers , average Americans gain 6-8 lbs over the holidays.
Unfortunately on top of that a study has shown that blood pressure can increase by 8%.
But enough of the stats because not only is it proven that we put on a little weight over the holiday period, but we also hugely change our diet.
We throw our system out of whack by eating all those treats and often consuming a little more alcohol.
Top Tips to Beat the Holiday Weight Gain
Eating:
Eating:- Avoid going to parties hungry – Otherwise you are guaranteed to gorge yourself
- Do not try to diet over the holiday period, just try to maintain your weight
- Try to eat foods that you regularly have in your diet – so that there aren’t too many big changes
- Yes, you can have the treats and deserts and all those other goodies, but try filling up the majority of your meal from the bottom of the food pyramid
- Don’t continuously snack, have a few good meals throughout the day.
Alcohol:
Drinking alcohol can lead to food being turned into fat – and this often goes around the gut area (a risk factor for heart disease), hence the saying beer belly!
- Alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic
- Don’t binge drink
- Drink out of a smaller glass, drinking out a huge glass often leads to it disappearing faster…
- Arrive at functions well hydrated
Drinking no more than four standard drinks on a single occasion reduces the risk of alcohol-related injury arising from that occasion (nutrition Australia).
Exercise:
Exercise:- Get involved with fun activities with family or friends – don’t just watch! Grab a tennis racquet, go for a walk or throw the pig skin around.
- Going for a walk or any other form of exercise can increase your metabolism – meaning your body can process the food better and stores it in the right places.
- Before you settle into relaxing and enjoying a good meal and beverage, do a bit of exercise – it will start your day off a lot better!
And remember, KEEP HYDRATED
Happy holidays
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