Thanksgiving Hangover
Friday, November 28, 2008
Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N
Just because you blew your diet yesterday, that doesn't mean you should blow the next 5 weeks, too! Most people actually only gain 1-2 pounds from Thanksgiving to New Year's. Doesn't sound like much, does it? The problem is that we don't lose the weight after the New Year. We accumulate 1-2 pounds of holiday weight each year, and 10 or 20 years later, we are 10-40 pounds overweight! How did that happen? Not overnight. And not on one Thanksgiving Day.
Top 5 Tips to get through the holidays without extra baggage in the New Year:
- Move more! If you are going to eat more (and you will), then you need to move more. Do some form of exercise daily, yes, I did say DAILY. Three times per week will not prevent that eggnog from hanging around your waist.
- Be a "food snob." You will have lots of goodies put in front of you in the next 5 weeks. Be what I call a "food snob." Turn your nose up (not literally) to plain old cookies and candy and save yourself for your absolute favorites that only come around once a year (rum balls, anyone?)
- Avoid buffets. If the parties you are going to have buffets of food, plan wisely. Survey the buffet and put your food snob nose on. Only eat what looks and tastes worth it! Limit yourself to one plate.
- Split food. To be able to sample more different foods without eating too much, ask your spouse or friends if they will split something with you. This works especially well with desserts or even entrees or sides.
- Lighten up. This has two meanings. One is to lighten up recipes with reduced fat or fat free ingredients like light sour cream or reduced fat mayo. The other meaning is: Lighten up! Don't take yourself so seriously that you are a scrooge at parties because you are "dieting." Enjoy your favorites and get an extra day of exercise to balance it out!
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