Beating the Holiday Trap

Well folks, it's that time of year again. Tis the season to be jolly. And for many of us, we will get extra jolly around our mid- section. There is just no escaping it: holiday eating is high in calories, and most of those calories are coming from sugar and fat. The inevitable result is weight gain. While I don't expect everyone to give up their favorite holiday meals, there are certain ways to minimize expanding the waist line. I hope this article will give you some helpful tips on how to beat the holiday bulge.

Top 10 Tips for Fighting the Holiday Bulge

1. Eat smaller portions. I know this is a hard one to start with, because the holidays are all about huge portions. Just because it's the holidays, doesn't mean that we should break all of the rules when it comes to eating. And since holiday cooking is usually higher in fat, that makes it all the more important to keep the portions small.

2. If you're not hungry, don't eat! One of the biggest problems we run into during the holidays is an over-abundance of food. And eating when we are not hungry is one of the leading causes of weight gain. If we see more food, our brain tells us we need to eat it. Try tuning in to your body. Ask yourself if you are truly still hungry. The answer may surprise you.

3. Eat smaller meals throughout the day, rather than three huge meals. We should be doing this all the time anyway. By eating sporadically throughout the day (every 3-4 hours), our metabolism increases. This allows us to have more energy, which is rare during holiday eating, and allows us to burn more calories throughout the day.

4. Incorporate low-fat cooking. I know this seems impossible during the holidays, but it is not. There are many wonderful cook books that offer low-fat recipes which can turn your holiday cooking into a tasty and healthy feast!

5. Eat high-protein foods. Protein helps to re-build muscle after rigorous work or exercise. So instead of loading up on the stuffing and mashed potatoes, you might want to focus more on the turkey, chicken, or ham. Vegetables are great too!

6. Keep simple and starchy carbs moderated. You're probably thinking, "This guy must be crazy", right? After all, it is the holidays. How can we not eat the cookies, cake, ice cream, candy and pies? I'm not saying don't eat them. I too realize that the holidays are a special time and that we deserve to splurge a little. Just try to keep it moderated to a smart level. And again, if you're not hungry, don't eat it!

7. Stay hydrated. Put down the eggnog and drink some water for goodness sake! It's the most important and still the most neglected nutrient the body needs. Proper hydration will help to mobilize fat and keep cells healthy.

8. Move your body! Contrary to popular belief, the holidays are not a time to just sit around. I'm all for spending quality time with the family, but we also need to spend some quality time burning calories. Exercise does play a strong role during the holiday season. Regular aerobic exercise is the best way to ensure the waistline will not grow any larger!

9. Perform resistance training. I know you're probably all thinking, "lifting weights is the last thing I want to do during the holidays". I don't blame you. But if you're already doing it, the holidays are not an excuse to stop. And if you're not, it's the perfect time to begin! It may sound crazy, but you burn a great deal of fat during resistance training. And you become leaner at the same time. What's not to like?

10. Perform aerobic exercise after resistance training whenever possible. After you perform resistance training, your body becomes depleted of glycogen, your carbohydrate fuel source. Therefore, by doing aerobic exercise directly after, your body has nothing to turn to except fat for energy. The end result: you burn more fat!

This is the one time of year that I often listen to my clients express fears about eating. I usually give them the same response: If you can make it through the holidays eating healthy, then you can make it through anything! And I believe that very strongly. Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying don't touch the eggnog or the pumpkin pie or the Christmas cookies. That would be cruel and unusual of me to do. When I speak of eating healthy during the holidays, what I really mean is this: Don't eat the entire kitchen! Make healthy choices.

One of the biggest problems to occur during the holidays is overeating. Many of us are accustomed to going home for the holidays and sitting down to a huge family dinner and eating until we can't eat anymore. In my case, growing up, my grandfather would sneak food onto my plate while I wasn't looking. And I would feel, as most of us feel when we have eaten everything in front of us and then some, completely bloated. That feeling of being bloated is very common, and it is the sure tell sign that we have overeaten. Therefore, we know that if this feeling occurs, we have eaten too much, and thus weight gain occurs. It seems to be the curse of the holiday season. So my advice to you this year, above anything else is to moderate your portions. Don't let yourself overeat! If you do, you probably won't be happy the next time you get on the scale.

There are also other things to remember that will aid us in achieving fat loss this holiday season. Here are a few:

Perform staggered aerobic exercise. By staggering your intensity (interval training), you use both a lower heart rate which will burn more fat, and a higher heart rate, which will burn more calories. We want both. This is a win win situation. Care should be taken not to perform interval training more than twice per week.

Avoid starchy carbohydrates and simple sugars at inactive times of the day. OK, I know this is asking for a lot, but think twice before you eat that stuffing right before bed time. Consuming these kinds of foods at inactive times will result in carbohydrates not being utilized for energy, and therefore converting to fat. This is one of the biggest reasons for the obesity epidemic in this country.

Get plenty of rest. This may seem like a no brainer, but I actually find a lot of people have trouble sleeping this time of year. Your body needs adequate rest, otherwise it will not recover properly, and this can have a negative impact on your workouts. You also burn a lot of calories while you are sleeping. This is probably one of the most important yet most unrecognized principles to follow.

Make sure you're getting your essential fat's, namely the omega 3 and omega 6 fats. You can achieve this by taking a tablespoon of flaxseed oil every morning with your breakfast. You can also find them in fresh produce, fish, and even certain animal meats. If necessary, you can also take fish oil as a supplement.

Take a multi- vitamin. This will insure that all of your nutrient requirements are being met. We should be doing this every day as it is!

I hope that gives you some helpful tips for healthy eating this holiday season. Like I said, if you can make it through the holidays eating healthy, you can make it through anything. Don't deprive yourself, just be smart. It's up to you. Good luck.

Be healthy!

Michael Elder has been working as a fitness professional in Chicago for the last fifteen years. He comes from a background in gymnastics and is certified as a personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise (ACE). He can be contacted directly through his website, www.MichaelElder.com.