The holiday season has begun. That means parties, big family dinners and sweets tempting you from every corner. So, while the holiday season can be full of joyous experiences it can also be a truly stressful time - bringing with it the fear of stepping on the scale once the New Year rolls around. However, there's some good news - most people don't gain as much weight during this time of year as they might think. But, the bad news is that the weight gained during the festive season turns into an unwanted gift that can't be returned.

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the Medical University of South Carolina studied 195 people and found that nearly a year later 85% of the participants still had not lost that extra weight. That means that even if you only gain two pounds during the holidays, that if you consistently do that year after year you'll be 10 pounds heavier in just five years! The study also found that overweight and obese participants gained the most weight during the holiday study compared to others.

Even small amounts of excess weight carry risks to our health. So, avoiding weight gain all together is the smart solution. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of weight gain," said Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Preventing the increase in weight is a lot easier and better than actually gaining weight and trying to get it off again."

Sure, that may sound like something that is easier said than done. There are no shortages of holiday weight tips being echoed throughout t.v., radio and print. But, still people tend to gain some weight during the holidays. That doesn't have to be the case! Let's put some real-world reality to these tips to make them actually useful. There are reasonable ways to alter your behavior so that you can still enjoy yourself without becoming an unofficial member of the holiday weight gainers club.

Tip 1: Don't abandon your fitness regimen during the holidays.

Sure, it sounds easy enough but even devoted exercisers can fail. During November and December many people's time gets overtaken by holiday shopping, decorating, and family get-togethers. But, just because you abandon your normal workout routine doesn't mean you can't stay fit. Schedule just 10 minutes of each day for exercise. Put it on your calendar so you won't brush it aside. 10 minutes a day can be enough to prevent gaining a few pounds. Exercises to try: brisk walks, strength training with dumbbells, resistance band exercises.

Tip 2: Allow indulgences but limit them.

Moderation is the key but in reality how many of us can stop ourselves from eating more than one cookie or resisting all the different types of homemade deserts at a family party. The key here is to remind yourself that if you eat a piece of pie you haven't destroyed your healthy eating for the entire day. So, you can't use that excuse and allow for a free-for-all. To keep yourself in check write down each indulgence you have. If you write it down you will see in black and white exactly what you are consuming and that should be enough of a reality check to keep you on track. You may even want to consider posting your indulgences on a public webpage that your friends and family view. Revealing this to others may further help keep you in check.

Tip 3: Stay out of the kitchen.

For those who find joy in baking treats during the holidays, this tip doesn't sound very fun. Instead of placing police tape across your kitchen doorway, have fun baking but give the goodies away. As soon as you bake, place your items in containers. Give the containers to friends and family or to a good cause. One option is sending them to troops through Soldier's Angels or Treats For Troops.

Tip 4: Avoid overindulging at holiday parties by eating sensibly throughout the day and avoiding the high fat foods at the buffet.

No matter what time of year, you should always strive to eat three to five meals per day. That helps to maintain a healthy weight. But, that can be difficult on a good day. When the busy time of the holidays rolls around it becomes more and more challenging. Still, with some planning it doesn't have to be impossible. Plan one hour per week that you can take time at the grocery store and stock up on some healthy but quick foods. Try organic frozen meals you can heat in the microwave oven, roasted chicken from the prepared foods section and pre-cut vegetables.

When faced with a holiday buffet with tempting foods, try this plan. First go through the buffet line and pick only the most healthy options: vegetables with a small amount of dip, cheeses, and chicken (not fried) options. Eat those, then wait at least 10 minutes before you allow yourself to hit the buffet line again. This time choose just two less healthy options (get small portions) and allow yourself to eat those. Wait 20 minutes and drink two glasses of water during that time. Hopefully you won't feel like returning to the buffet line but if you do you shouldn't be too hungry and therefore should have more willpower at that time.

Tip 5: Strive for five-a-day. Ensure that you eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

This proves to be challenging for most people. But, these days you can get very creative with the foods you eat to satisfy your five servings. The best options are eating raw fruit and vegetables throughout the day - bananas, apples, carrots, salad. But, if that just isn't going to work for you try out some of the new fruit/vegetable juices that give you both a fruit and veggie serving in a single glass. Also, there are fruit strips that are made of 100% fruit. You can even find snap pea chips these days. Some soups have full servings in them as well.

These 5 tips give you real world examples of how you can easily execute them while still fully enjoying the holiday season. So, no more excuses - follow the tips and you should find yourself picking a new resolution come January. No need to resolve to lose holiday weight!

About the Author:

Lynn Bode is a certified personal trainer specializing in Internet-based fitness programs. Her company, WorkoutsForYou.com, can help you achieve your fitness and weight loss goals. Visit: www.workoutsforyou.com for tips, sample workouts and more. Fitness professionals, learn about our online personal trainer software, visit: www.trainerforce.com.

Back to Table Of Contents

I can remember my first visit to a health club like it was yesterday. It was actually thirty years ago, when I was five years old. Even though it was a long time ago, that visit triggered something in me that is still with me today. That something was my desire to lead afitness lifestyle.

I can go on and on here about all the health related benefits of working out and eating right. But the truth is you already heard or read about all these good things. So, I won?t bore you with what you already know.

What I do want to share with you are the benefits that you won?t see on a scale, in the mirror or in the results of your next medical exam. What I?m talking about is the priceless influence you will have on others who are close to you such as your children, parents, friends, co-workers and employees (if you are a business owner).

By choosing to live a fitness lifestyle, and actively expose me to it, my father was imparting wisdom on me that would beneficially influence his descendants for generations to come. Pretty smart guy, wouldn?t you say?

There were other factors that contributed to my desire to lead an active & healthy lifestyle. As a kid, I was able to see the difference between how my father looked and how other people in his age range, who did not take care of themselves, looked. The difference was staggering.

And, when it came to physical abilities. Forget about it! He could do things by himself that would normally require three or four out of shape & unhealthy people to get done.

I knew exactly what kind of shape I wanted to be in when I grew up.

In essence, my father was leading by example. And, not only did I learn from his example, but so did my brother and sister. They are both committed to exercising and eating right (most of the time).

This brings me to some of those secret benefits I mentioned earlier. Our kids now watch us workout and eat healthy. The same things that happened to me as a kid are happening to the next generation. Our kids want to use the home gym, do stretches and floor exercises, and eat nuts and fruit for snacks instead of candy and cookies (most of the time).

Here is my point in all of this. By taking care of himself my father was taking care of his kids and his grandkids. And, you can believe that his great grandchildren will benefit as well.

What better gift can one pass down than the desire to lead a healthy lifestyle and the enhanced quality of life that goes with it? There is nothing better.

In addition to influencing your children, this same mechanism can and also does apply to friends, parents, co-workers and employees (if you are abusiness owner). I?ve seen this happen with many of the clients I have worked with over the years.

The reasons are many but the end result is still the same. Your healthy way of life will inspire others around you to take better care of themselves through a healthier life style.

The moral of this story is: By leading a lifestyle built around physical fitness and smart nutrition, you may be taking care of a lot more people than just yourself.

Copyright 2005

About the author:

Joey Atlas, MS - Exercise Physiology, is considered one of the top personal trainers in the US. He is the author of the best selling audio CD Controversial Secrets of a Personal Trainer. Joey is a co-owner of GAC Personal Training, www.GACtraining.com,where he continues to guide people toward a better quality of life through proper exercise programming and nutritional guidance.

Back to Table Of Contents