This post is near and dear to my heart since I have a passion for any trick that helps me avoid that dreaded holiday weight gain. Apparently, I’m not the only one who has a problem with the holiday pudge. The average American gains anywhere from 4-7 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. And for women over 50, forget about it. I don’t know about you, but it seems like ever since I rolled past the half century mark, it feels as if it can take me less than a week to gain 5 pounds, but over a month to loose it. I decided to do a little research into whether or not this phenomenon is actually true or simply a case of my being in denial about how much I’m eating. The good news is that it’s actually true. Or is that the bad news….
Once you hit 50, your body doesn’t burn calories like it used to. In fact, you are burning about 450 fewer calories a day than you did in your 20’s. Couple this with the fact that your body starts to loose lean tissue after 35, your bone mass and bone density start declining while your body fat, particularly the unhealthy visceral fat around your organs, starts increasing, your estrogen drops which can affect your sleep (hello weight gain) while also upping your cortisol and insulin production which contributes to fat gain and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. But I’m here to tell you, it is not impossible to enjoy the holidays without gaining weight. It just takes a little thought and planning, that’s all.
Here are the tricks that I use to survive the holidays without busting that top button on my skinny jeans:
Pick Your Battles
I like to call this the 80/20 rule. Since I have a lot of “no go foods” on my food sensitivity list, many of which are holiday favorites like champagne, I try to stick to my program and eat clean 80% of the time. This allows me to let the fur fly during that other 20%. Within reason, of course. For example, on Saturday night, I had friends over for a little impromptu holiday soirée. I served a really delicious Chicken Sausage, White Bean & Kale soup that was totally on my food plan, not to mention healthy, but indulged in a few glasses of my Champagne & Pomegranate cocktails, a glass of red wine and one bite of dessert. Picking your battles allows you to have fun without blowing out your waistband.
Identify Your Triggers
But here’s the thing. Picking your battles only works when you can identify your triggers. I am personally not someone who can have ice cream in the house. Why? Because that quart of Hagen Dazs calls to me from the freezer saying “I’m lonely. Come eat me.” I shit you not. It’s a little obscene. So after the party on Saturday night, I sent one of my guests home with the leftover French Vanilla. Same with the cheesy Irish soda bread. I mean that sucker wouldn’t have even lasted until bedtime. You need to be honest with yourself about what you can and can not handle. If you are someone who simply can not stop at one bite of dessert no matter what then you may want to steer clear of the cookie table at your next holiday party. Or if having that second cocktail tends to make you say “screw it” and plow your way through the cheese platter then it might be smart to stop at just one. Identifying your triggers allows you to pick your battles.
Get Outside and Exercise
One of the easiest ways to compensate for a bit of overeating (and, lets be honest, over drinking) during the holidays is to kick up your exercise regime. And doing it outside, especially for those of you living in cold climates, is going to burn even more calories. How? Well, a recent study in Cell Magazine found that shivering in the cold for 15 minutes had the same effect on the body as an hour of moderate exercise. Turns out that shivering causes your muscles to contract which triggers the release of irisin, a hormone that converts white fat cells into the calorie burning brown kind. So, come on girls, get your butt outside and embrace that cold. It’s a double whammy of calorie burning yumminess. Oh, and exercising outside calms your mind, lowers your cortisol level and helps keep your “fight or flight” response in check. All of which are beyond necessary for many of us when dealing with our beloved families during the holidays.
The holidays are a time of joy so it’s important not to deprive yourself. Doing so always makes me cranky. But with a little planning and some self reflection, you’ll be able to indulge in lots of fun this holiday season without gaining weight, without blowing your top at your mother in law, and without starting the new year on a diet. Now, that’s what I call good best friend advice.