Avoiding the traps of holiday dieting

The holidays usually mean abandoning our diets and gaining a little pound or two....maybe even alot of extra weight. But with a little planning and willpower..you can keep it to a mininum.

Does this sound familiar?...................

The homemade fudge pieces look lonely sitting on the table, those shortbread cookies are calling your name, and your mother ( your aunt..your grandmother..ect) has decided you need to have another helping of her home-made pumpkin pie. She douses the pie with tons of whipped cream and completes her culinary masterpiece with two scoops of creamy golden vanilla ice cream. As she hands you the piece, you cringe, thinking about all the other holiday sweets and glasses of egg nog you've already tasted to celebrate the season. All those extra calories, all that fat. . What do you do? You don't want to hurt her feelings?

Most people gain about seven to twelve pounds in the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

Don't strive for perfection over the holidays. You can't deny yourself because everything is centered around food. It's okay to have a piece of pie," We must concentrate on maintaining our weights...not trying to lose weight.

The most unhealthy thing you can do is to skip a meal to save calories, so you can eat more at parties. Our main goal should be "to maintain weight, not necessarily try to lose." Use exercise as a key factor in maintaining weight, Try to eat sensibly, go easy on the alcohol, be selective in food choices, and most importantly, stop eating whenyou feel full. Did you know that you can save 700 calories in one week by giving up real butter?

Did you know that fatty food, especially those usually served at holiday parties, can lead to gallbladder trouble? Especially if you have been dieting recently. How? By restricting foods can stimulate new gallstones to form. Ironically...the raw vegetables most people serve at parties for low fat , low calorie foods are the worst for bringing on gall bladder problems. So don't just limit yourself to those raw vegetables...go ahead and have some of everything thats served...just limit the amounts you eat and enjoy!

One way to maintain your current weight durning the holidays is to EAT MORE...more of the foods that will help you lose and maintain your weight. There are certain foods associated with holidays that will actually help you lose weight if you eat them. Sound unbelievable? Well its true!

Foods like corn, baked potatoes, yams, apples, squash, brown rice, wild rice, brocolli ,califlower are only a few. You can eat these in large amounts and only comsume a small amout of calories. and fat. Avoid foods that provide many calories and occupy little space in your stomach such as all fats, butter, margarine, mayonnaise, salad dressings, sour cream and cheeses. There are lots of non fattening festive flavorings such as salsa, barbecue sauce, mustard, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, A-1 steak sauce, peppers, onion and garlic that will add tons of zest and flavor to your meals and you won't feel deprived.

AVOID FAT: Fat makes you fat. It's that simple. Studies have shown that if you analyze fatty tissue from a person to find out what kinds of fats are in them, it actually seems to be similar to the types of fat found in your food. This should indicate to us that the fat we eat turns into the fat in our bodies. To put it another way, if you avoid fat, it is much more difficult for your body to become fat. Thus, you can eat a lot of food and still maintain your weight through the holidays if you avoid fats. A simple rule of thumb is to eat no more than 22 to 33 grams of fat per day (this would be a 10% to 15% fat diet if you eat about a 2,000 calorie diet which is what an average 135 pound woman consumes)

It is important to know which foods contain very little fat and which contain a lot of fat. The items mentioned above to avoid are foods that are from around 75% fat to 100% fat. Most meats are 50% fat (such as a 91% fat-free burger!) to 74% fat (chuck roast). Most cheeses are between 50 to 80% fat. Most grains, starchy foods and vegetables are from 1 to 7% fat.
Here are some examples

You can see that about 70 potatoes (11.9 grams fat) are about equal to 1 tablespoon of butter (12 grams fat) in terms of fat grams, for example so you can eat a lot without getting a lot of fat.

EXERCISE: The final thing is to learn to that exercise can mean to have fun and play. . I mean physical play... today we call it "exercise" and for some of us it is a chore. Exercise!!! And remember that the holiday season is a time for play. Most of us are so busy working that we forget to enjoy physical activity as a means of enjoyment. When we were children we used to run and jump around, ride bicycles, or go swimming or even go for a leisurely stroll and have a good relaxing time. We need to relearn how to enjoy that type of physical activity ( exercise) and engage in this type of "play" on a regular basis even if it is just taking a daily brisk 30 minute walk. This will keep your metabolic rate high, help you feel better and along with the dietary suggestions above, help you lose weight (or at least not gain weight) through the holidays. Exercise actually helps lower ones apeitite and helps us burn off what we have eaten more efficently. Long walks are a great way to reconnect with family and friends and a great way to get us out of the house and away from the temptations!

So remember...

If you eat too much during one meal, do not worry, because you can make up for it the next day. Unless you perpetually overeat from Thanksgivng dayi until after New Year's Day, chances are that you will not notice any significant weight gain.

Remember..."don't deny, but don't overindulge."

Don't worry excessively about your weight over the holidays. The important thing is to enjoy friends and family, and the true spirit of giving and sharing. This is what the holidays are all about.

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