Next:
Click here for articles

Just think of exercise time as recess

Lose weight during holidays?  Yes!

Two words bring health: diet, exercise

Lose weight during holidays? Yes!

It’s that time of year when our waistlines expand as quickly as our wallets shrink.

Between Halloween and January 2nd, the typical person gains 10 lbs!  Yes, it’s a rough time to start a new food or exercise plan, so many of you are planning to get started after the first of the year.

Keep in mind, though, healthy weight loss is one to two pounds per week.  This means that if you gain the typical 10 lbs, you will be one to two months behind schedule before you even get started.

If, however, you manage to just maintain your current weight between now and 2007, you will be 10 pounds ahead of the average person.  So, how do you do that while still enjoying your holiday?
 
First, a little math:  one pound equals 3500 calories.  A 10 pound gain would be an average of 1 pound per week or 500 calories per day (3500 calories per week divided by 7). 

Now, you know where those calories come from:  the goodies the co-worker baked last weekend, the free sample you just have to take from the See’s Candy lady and all the various dinners, parties, lunches and such that you will attend. 

You can make some simple changes in the parts of your regular eating habits that allow an extra 500 calories per day of “give” to make room for all the extra treats.

Here are some ways to capture those calories:

• Try a plain coffee with powdered creamer instead of your grande caffe latte (even with skim milk) at 168 calories.  (Remember, you get to have some pie later!)  Save 150 calories.

• Switch out that bagel and cream cheese at 450 calories for an English muffin with a low fat spread (such as Brummel & Brown) and save 300 calories.

• Use light bread, which saves about 50 calories per slice, or 100 calories per sandwich.

• Try some balsamic vinegar on your salad.  Get the better stuff, it tastes very good and you get 4 tablespoons for 40 calories vs. the 200 you will spend on even low fat dressing.

• Keep meat cuts lean and trim the fat.  Cut your serving size from the typical 6 ounces to 3 ounces and save 150 calories.

Now, here’s the best part. 

You’re getting more of a head start than you think.  These small changes will allow you some guilt free indulgences throughout the holidays.

And, when the holidays are over, you will have an extra surprise.  You will have already begun that new healthy lifestyle.  The habits will already be formed. 

You just keep the changes you made and without all the holiday temptations, those 3500 calories per week now take you into the negative and you begin to lose weight instead of just maintaining!  Now, how easy was that?

Until next time, stay healthy and be happy.