Not Your Average Fitness Tips

Chances are that you’re going to put on some weight during the holidays.  With temptations stretching from Thanksgiving to New Years, and possibly beyond, how can you avoid holiday weight gain?  Just as important, how can you avoid holiday weight gain and still indulge in some of your favorite foods during this time and not feel like a diet outcast.

Average Holiday Weight Gain

Some studies have suggested that holiday weight gain averages 5-10lbs.  More recent studies have shown that average holiday weight gain is only 1lb.  However, this is simply the average amount gained.  Overweight people tend to gain more than others.  Additionally, this holiday weight gain is generally not lost over time.  In other words, the gains you experience during the holidays may remain with you for the rest of your life…just one more reason why many people start to accumulate excess fat after they hit 30.

Preventative Actions

The best way to enjoy the holidays while avoiding excess weight gain is to work hard leading up to them.  If you’ve been dieting and exercising and cutting a lot of weight, then you can afford to give a little back at the holidays as long as you remain committed to hard work afterwards.  However, this is not an excuse to sacrifice all your prior hard work.  You’ll still want to limit your indulgences and make sure you don’t add too much weight, if any.

Resist Temptation

The biggest challenge of the holidays is those huge, home cooked meals that just tempt you to eat as much as possible.  Portion control is the most critical aspect of avoiding holiday weight gain so here are a few strategies in dealing with the big meal:

1. Don’t wait to eat: if you’re ravenous before a meal, you’re more likely to overeat.  Try to indulge in healthy or high fiber snacks like fruit beforehand so that you already feel a little full.
2. Wait to eat: so after advising you not to go to a meal on an empty stomach, I’d like to offer the alternative of fasting before the big meal.  The catch is that you need to have the discipline to control your urges (to some extent) during the big meal.  I use Eat Stop Eat year round to help lose fat and control food urges.
3. Slow down: I’m as guilty of this as anyone, but there’s a tendency to stuff as much food down your throat as possible when it all tastes so good.  Take time to savor it though and you’ll find that you fill up quicker.
4. Use small plates: it’s a stupid psychological trick, but you’ll feel like you’re eating more if you have a full plate in front of you.  The best way to fill up a plate is not to add more food, but to shrink the plate size.
5. Drink: water, not alcohol.  Water has been proven to fill you up leading to less caloric intake during a meal.  Have a glass 30-60 minutes prior to eating.
6. Don’t give up: just because you’re eating a big meal, doesn’t mean you should just completely give up and eat whatever is in sight.  Listen to your stomach and only eat until you are full.  Maybe even try to pass on extras like gravy.

Damage Control

Huge meals aside, one day generally doesn’t kill a diet.  It’s the leftovers, abundance of snacks and sweets, alcohol, and general laziness during the holidays that contribute to the most holiday weight gain.  If you just ate large meals on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, you probably wouldn’t gain any weight, assuming you followed a regular diet and exercise program the rest of the time.  This is the best way to limit damage from the holidays.

However, you can perform a little damage control after the big meal, if you’re so inclined.  Here are a few recommendations:

1. Skip a meal: my family has our big meals in the late afternoon.  No matter how much I eat, I’m always tempted to break out leftovers for dinner only a few hours later.  Why does this happen?  Because my brain is programmed to eat at particular times so when 6PM rolls around, it tells my stomach that it’s time to eat.  Use some willpower and let your stomach tell your brain that it got enough calories to skip 1, or even 2 meals.
2. Exercise intensely: don’t jump on the treadmill right after the meal is finished, but try to get an intense workout in the next day.  A HIIT workout is always effective, but this is one of the few times that I might recommend marathon cardio where you try to keep a pretty intense pace for a long time.  This is not steady state cardio where you can talk to other people.  This is a pace at which you’re working very hard but not exhausting yourself too quickly.  Generally, marathon cardio can lead to muscle loss, but with significantly elevated glycogen levels from the big meal, it serves as a good way to reduce those levels and get back to fat burning mode.
3. Business as usual: you don’t necessarily need to do anything special after the big meal.  Just ensure you get right back to your regular workout routine and diet plan.  Don’t use the big meal or holidays as an excuse to give up your regular routine until after the New Year.

Fitness Away From Home

If you’re planning on traveling for the holidays, you can still stay in great shape too.  Check out “Top 10 Travel Secrets to Lose Fat on the Road,” a free book from Turbulence Training author, Craig Ballantyne.

Additionally, my friend Raymond has an excellent post on “How To Go On Holidays, Eat As Much As You Want and Still Lose Weight” while my friend Alykhan offers tips on “How to Lose Weight Really Fast After a Vacation,” both of which are more than relevant during this season.

Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

It’s certainly the biggest challenge you’ll face before the New Year, but you can avoid holiday weight gain if you plan in advance and work hard.  Do what’s best for your lifestyle, but with a proper diet and exercise routine, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy the festivities while avoiding holiday weight gain.  Have a Happy Holiday Season!

Leave a Reply