Holiday Weight Gain
Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites
Diet, Christmas & the Weight Gain Connection
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Here's something very interesting that might apply to your life and act as a helpful 'Diet Key' in unlocking the door to weight loss success.
Ask yourself this question, "What time of year do you tend to gain weight?"
Did you answer, 'The holidays'? If so, that's a very 'normal' answer. In fact, if it wasn't for the holidays, you may have never faced weight problems.
Increase in Weight Following Holidays
With this said, if you see that you maintain basically the same weight all year long, and then experience a sharp increase in weight right after the holidays, this knowledge might help you plan ahead for the season.
It's so much fun to just go ape with your diet - and not worry about what you are eating, and how much you are eating.
But in doing such, all the joy that was experienced during the 'Holiday Feeding Frenzy' swiftly goes away IMMEDIATELY following the holidays.
It isn't 'fun' anymore. Depression settles in as the numbers on the bathroom scales climb. We feel out of control.
We may feel angry or frustrated with ourselves for eating too much, and too freely - and for reaching for common holiday foods that weren't of the healthiest variety. We may even try to punish our self in order to make up for all that happy-happy during the holidays.
Holiday Foods Associated With Weight Gain
A few common foods associated with the holidays that bring more unwanted pounds than deliver wanted joy include eggnog - at about 450+ per one cup serving for the full-blown variety.
Then we have fruitcake, mince pies and nut pies - such as pecan. While one small wedge or slice will fit into almost any healthy diet, it's not uncommon for the fruitcake or pie lover to enjoy half a pie or cake before the madness stops.
If the fruitcake is homemade, then it's apt to contain far more nuts and fruit than the cake-like fruitcake found at the market bakery.
A five pound fruitcake should serve up to fifty people as only a tiny slice equals a serving size when it comes to homemade. Yet, they tend to be so delicious that they get sliced into twelve slices - as one would a chocolate cake.
The damage from calories is plentiful, as are those serving sizes.
Dieting During the Holidays
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Let's take a look at Dieter Noel and learn how she handled the holiday season. She has need of losing 44 pounds and decided to start her weight loss plan on Christmas Week. She didn't want to wait for the holidays to end - she wanted the excessive numbers on her bathroom scales to end. More specifically, decrease.
She did great for the first five days of her weight loss plan, even avoiding the massive basket of goodies sent to her company, compliments of the local bakery which they did business with.
And then Christmas Eve arrived as she arrived at her dear Aunt's home. No one could quite cook like Aunty and her greeting table was loaded to the max with all of Noel's favorite things - which she resisted quite well. That is, until Uncle started playing the piano and family member gathered around the tree and sang those beautiful, and at times - haunting seasonal hymns.
Noel couldn't remember ever being filled with this much happiness and joy. She decided to try just one small pecan tassie as she accompanied her favorite cousin to the greeting table still heavy with food.
And it was as delicious as she had expected. So, she had another. Then another. And at this point, she had blown her intentions of being good - so she had a dozen more along with strawberry cheesecake, chocolate truffles and Aunty's locally famous cheese roll.
The following morning the family headed over to her parent's house - and again there was food everywhere. And everyone was celebrating by eating as much of their favorite foods as they could pack in.
Not wanting to feel left out, Noel seized the moment; to be more accurate - she seized the eggnog punchbowl along with a platter of Christmas Angel cookies dusted with white sugar crystals (Angel dust).
Procrastinating Losing Weight, Never a Wise Plan
At the end of the day she thought, "What the hey - I'll enjoy the holidays and make merry, then I'll diet after the New Year."
And that is exactly what she did. When she stepped back onto her bathroom scales the day after New Year's, her jaw dropped as she read the number; now she had 52 pounds to lose. She was truly going to pay for all her overeating in the way of weight loss struggles.
If these situations sound familiar, I can tell you from the Voice of Experience, when you lose weight correctly - it stays off! No more holiday fumbling about, no more worries about weight gain or poor health.
When you finally decide to put yourself in the driver's seat of your weight loss plan - and when you kick Mister F. (Food) Cravings into the passenger side during the holidays, life gets much sweeter.
So be very alert during this 'most wonderful time of the year' because while it can be dear, and while it comes with fond memories - it is often accompanied with fond pounds and unfond memories of weight gain.
Don't allow the madness of the season to add unwanted pounds to your frame. You are in control! Drive, baby, drive!
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