Did you overindulge this Thanksgiving? Don't worry, a LOT of people did. I hear about it every day when I'm training. Here's a great article I found that addresses some of the things you can do from preventing it from happening again this Christmas. Please read, comment, and share. Best, Chad.
By CAROLINE DOHACK-MCCRARY
Thanksgiving has come and gone. But even as the last of the pumpkin pie dwindles in its tin pan, the calendar is filling up with festivals, fundraisers, soirees, dinners and a few more big holidays. Time is at a premium, and decadent foodstuff abounds. The result? Diet and exercise often fall by the wayside.
But we’re here to tell you it’s OK. You say you indulged? We say, so what? A few diet strategies and a realistic workout plan will keep you chugging along so, come Jan. 1, you’re not facing an insurmountable resolution.
First, it’s time to abandon that “all or nothing” mentality. A single day of indulgence won’t blow your whole year. As Scottie Rawlings pointed out, that 5- to 10-pound holiday weight gain doesn’t occur overnight. Rather, it accumulates during that period of time between Halloween and Valentine’s Day, said Rawlings, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at Cosmopolitan International Diabetes and Endocrinology Center.
Jen Talaski, a trainer at Anytime Fitness, seconds this. It takes 3,500 calories to put on a pound of fat tissue, she said, meaning you would have to eat 17,500 to 35,000 calories in addition to what you usually eat in a day to put on that much weight. The numbers on the scale the Monday after Thanksgiving can be misleading, though, and for this reason Talaski advises people against weighing themselves immediately after the holiday.
“What they don’t realize is that a lot of giving food is very salty, so they’re going to make you retain water. It is impossible to gain 5 pounds in one day even if you’ve been gorging yourself,” Talaski said.
LEAVING THE LEFTOVERS
Kristy Lang, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator at Boone Hospital Center, said planning for the rest of the season can help eliminate some unnecessary temptations.
“We all get that Holly Homemaker mindset. We want to really make people happy. We make too much, and that’s how we end up with all these leftovers. Minimize it by making four sides instead of eight,” Lang said.
That isn’t to say all leftovers are bad. Lang said leftover turkey or ham can easily become another healthful meal.
“You can turn it into sandwiches or use the meat in other dishes,” Lang said.
Leftover desserts can be divvied up and sent home with guests.
“If everybody takes home one slice, it’s not going to ruin anybody as far as eating habits go,” Lang said.
Lang said any lingering temptations are OK to keep around if you can finish them off in a controlled fashion, say eating one or two cookies a day. But if you can’t stop there?
“Some people might be better off throwing it away,” Lang said.
EATING SMART
To get through the rest of your holiday gatherings as healthfully as possible, Rawlings recommends looking at caloric intake as budgeting.
“Oftentimes, people know how much money they’re going to spend on Christmas more than what they know they’re going to eat at the next meal,” Rawlings said.
In some instances, it helps to look at which menu items you can have any time and which are truly special. Mashed potatoes, for example, are something you can eat year-round, Rawlings said, so instead of choosing that, go for some of your favorite, once-a-year menu items. And, she said, don’t feel guilty about it.
“If you’re going to give yourself permission to eat that pie, enjoy it,” Rawlings said.
As you enjoy those foods, take time to savor them. Some studies have shown food becomes less satisfying as you continue to eat.
“There’s been research on how different foods stimulate different parts of your bran and fire all those receptors off. The first three bites tend to be the most potent. If you think of three bites of any food, that’s a pretty small quantity. If you kept it to a size that might be three to four bites, you satisfy that craving you’ve had without having blown your whole healthy-eating mentality,” Lang said.
To balance out those sensible portions, Lang said to go for plenty of fruits and vegetables.
“Fill at least half or even three-quarters of your plate with any of that produce. Instead of making junk foods healthier, enjoy them but keep your quantities smaller,” Lang said.
FITTING IN FITNESS
In addition to busy schedules, increasingly icky weather can make exercise a chore this time of year.
Mason Stevens, a fitness instructor and certified personal trainer at Boone Hospital, said cultivating the right mindset can help make it easier. For Stevens, staying on track means drawing motivation from internal rather than external factors.
“Most people exercise to lose weight. ‘I want to exercise because I want to get healthy’ is still” an external factor. “If that’s our only motivator, we’re more likely to drop it,” Stevens said.
Instead of focusing on an end result, Stevens said to focus on the process of exercise. What feels good? What do you enjoy about an activity?
“Focus on the positives: It’s easier to breathe, easier to move,” Stevens said. “When you focus on that aspect of trying to get motivated, then it’s very hard to fail. There’s not some looming goal that is always over your head. You’re focused on how you’re doing right now, and it’s not an end result that you’re meeting.”
Talaski adds that setting realistic fitness goals is important.
“Maybe your goal this week isn’t to lose weight but to maintain it. Be realistic about what you’re asking of your body and mind. Don’t be afraid to readjust those health and fitness and weight-loss goals. Sometimes life does take priority over other things,” Talaski said.
In a similar vein, Stevens said to be realistic about what your body is capable of if you miss a few workouts.
“If you’re going to take some time off, you’re not going to be able to get right back where you were when you left off,” Stevens said. “We lose ground a lot quicker than we gain it.”
So if you take a week off to travel, scale back a bit when you restart your routine. Overdoing it can lead to injury and burnout, Stevens said.
Talaski said having a Plan B is especially important this time of year.
If you are used to going to the gym after work but suddenly find yourself swamped after 5, get up earlier and hit the gym in the morning.
“If you can get it done and out of the way early in the day, then you have time for that social calendar,” Talaski said.
If you’re used to running outside but find the weather too dreary, a gym membership or some workout videos might be a good change, Talaski said.
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