Healthy Hibernation: Avoiding Winter Weight Gain

Holly Herrington, RD, LDN,CDECenter for Lifestyle Medicine

hherring@nmff.org

Holidays ≠ FOOD!

• Food is everywhere during the holiday season, making it tough to stick to your healthful eating and exercise habits.

• With a little attention, however, you can make it through the holidays without losing track of your healthy lifestyle.

• Thanksgiving• Christmas• New Year’s• ALL WINTER

Be Realistic• Focus on weight maintenance vs. weight loss during

the holidays.

• Maintenance of your present weight is a big enough challenge during the holiday season. Don’t set yourself up for failure by making unrealistic goals for yourself.

• Plan on NOT dieting after the New Year. Anticipation of food restriction sets you up for binge-type eating over the holidays

Holiday Weight Maintenance

• Yes… weight maintenance not weight loss!• On average people gain ~5 pounds over

the holidays… that’s 20 pounds over 10 years!

• IF you normally follow a strict diet.. You may gain 2x more than those who maintain a consistent diet

Remember….

• December 1-24 and 26-30 are not Holidays

• Allow yourself to enjoy the DAY– Holidays are ONE day– Keep in mind nothing is an ‘All You

Can Eat’ buffet– ALL things in moderation

General Rules…

• Continue to purchase Healthy Foods, control portions• Eat on a regular schedule• Make an effort to keep your exercise schedule on

track• Enjoy your favorite holiday treats but take a small

portion, eat slowly, and savor the taste and texture.

Daily self-monitoring helps!

• Pick realistic goals– Get in more fruits and vegetables when you can!

• Weigh yourself daily• Monitor food intake

– Food log– Online or written

• Myfitnesspal or Livestrong

• Track physical activity• Target the reductions in physical activity• Pick daily step goals• Use pedometer

Average Holiday Dinner

• 4, 000 calories– 229 grams fat

• The big culprits are…– Pecan pie = 500 calories per slice (1/8)– 1 cup stuffing = 350 calories– 6 ounces dark meat = 350 calories

The Damage…• Turkey

– 4 ounces = 160 calories– With gravy = 260 calories

• Sweet potato– 1 medium = 110 calories– Candied = 305 calories

• Mashed potatoes– 1 cup = 210 calories

• Biscuits– 1 = 250 calories

Healthier Thanksgiving Dinner = 1,000 calories• Turkey White Meat and skin – 1 cup diced, 276 calories• Bread Stuffing – 1/2 cup, 190 calories• Mashed Potatoes (Whole milk and butter added) – 1 cup, 237 calories• Whole Kernel Corn (Canned) – 1/2 cup, 66 calories• Turkey Gravy (Canned) – 1/2 cup 60 calories• Dinner Roll (White) – 1 roll, 120 calories• Butter – 1 tablespoon, 100 calories• Pumpkin Pie (Libby’s Recipe) – 1/8 of pie, 319 calories

Calories – 1,050

Fat – 63.45 g, Carbs – 101.9 g carbsProtein – 97 g

Office candy (aka junk)

• Those mini snickers aren’t that bad…– 1 = 100 calories– X 10 = 1,000

calories– = gain ½ pound per

week or 25 pounds per year!

• To burn off those 1,000 calories you’d have to do:1 hour elliptical (500 calories)+ 60 minutes weights (300

calories)+ 1 hour yard work (or

stringing the lights up) (200 calories)

3 hours total of physical activity!

Beware of the Leftover Factor

• Holidays are one day. – If you keep it you will eat it– Only make enough to serve the amount of people present– Send leftovers home with guests

– It will be wasted one way or the other

Use a Plate (and make it a small one).

• When eating, aim to eat all meals or snacks off of a plate instead of mindlessly munching while socializing, watching TV, or when in a hurry. – keep track of your portions better than mindlessly popping

food in your mouth. • Popcorn, gummy bears

• A small plate can allow you to enjoy some of your favorite foods but you will stay in control of portions better if you use a small plate and do not go back to reload the plate.

Prioritize Favorites

• The more variety we have the more we eat. • Decrease the variety you are eating by only picking

your 3-4 absolute favorites at each holiday event and forgo the rest.

• If you know that you have 3 or 4 events in one week, pick one of those events that you will splurge and then be conscious to scale back at the other events.

Party Time!

• Eat a snack before you leave home. If you arrive at a party starving, you’ll be more likely to overindulge. – Stick to your regular eating schedule!

• Survey the entire table before you take any food. – Why waste calories on foods that don’t bring you

pleasure?

• Do not graze. Try not to hang out near the food. • Make it a priority to enjoy the circus first

(friends, family, table settings, flowers, etc.) then your favorite holiday foods.

January Junction

• New Year’s Resolutions!– Like babies, they’re fun to make but extremely

difficult to maintain. – Don’t set yourself up for failure

• 1 of 3 Americans resolve to better themselves in some way.

• While about 75% of people stick to their goals for at least a week, less than half (46%) are still on target six months later (2002)

Goal Setting:Be Specific

• What do you want to improve?– Weight loss – Improved glucose control– Increased time, weight, or repetitions of fitness goals– Increased activities of daily living– Stress management (increase exercise!)– Decreased lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides)– Save money, see friends more often

– Set ATTAINABLE GOALS

Goals• Personalize your goals. Set goals that are within your capabilities and take

into account your limitations. – Think about your personal fitness level, health concerns, available time and

motivation. Tailoring your expectations to your personal situation helps you set achievable goals.

– SCALE of 1-10, how achievable is this? You should be at a 7 or higher!

• Aim for realistic weight-loss goals. Healthy weight loss occurs slowly and steadily. – Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. Losing weight more rapidly usually means losing

water weight or muscle tissue, rather than fat.

• Focus on the process. Make your goals "process goals," such as exercising regularly, rather than "outcome goals," such as losing 50 pounds. – Changing your process — your habits — is the key to weight loss. Make sure that

your process goals are realistic, specific & measurable. For example, set out to walk for 30 minutes/day, 5 days a week.

AFTER the Holidays

• Avoid the temptation to Diet– No fad diets, juice cleanses

• PLANNING is KEY

– Track Your Food– Meal plans

• Helps avoid eating “whatever”

– Set an exercise Schedule • Start planning activity NOW• Start practicing NOW

Calories Count!• How to find them?

• How to cut them?

• A calorie is a unit of measurement that measures the amount of energy contained in a food or beverage.

• 3,500 calories = 1 pound body weight– 500 less calories per day = 1 pound per week weight loss

#1 LOOK AT CALORIES:See how many calories are in each product (aim for 1200 calories/day or 300

calories/meal)

#2 SERVING SIZE:See per serving size how many calories are in each serving size (Ex: if there are 2

servings per container you have to multiple the calories by 2 if you eat the entire container)

Log your food

• One of the most important behaviors during this high risk time is to record everything you eat.

• Logging will help increase mindfulness of eating decisions and help you keep tabs on your portions.

• Research shows logging works, so give it a try from now until January 1 or even through the month of January.

Resources

• Food Logs Online: – My Fitness Pal: www.myfitnesspal.com – My Pyramid (USDA): www.mypyramid.gov – The Daily Plate: www.thedailyplate.com – Calorie King: www.calorieking.com

• Phone Applications:– Livestrong www.thedailyplate.com– MyNetDiary– Lose It!– Spark People

Meal Planning is KEY

• When you fail to plan your plan to fail– Being prepared helps you prevent eating unhealthy

foods• Healthy winter “comfort foods”– Soups, crock pot meals– Low calorie “goodies”

• www.skinnytaste.com

• Pre-cooked foods• Make it convenient!

Resources

• Skinny Taste– www.skinnytaste.com

• Cooking Light– http://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/recipe-makeovers/li

ghten-up-holiday-classics-00400000033944/

• Eating Well– http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/thanksg

iving_collection_1

• Clean Eating– www.cleaneating.com

Maintain perspective

• Overeating one day won't make or break your eating plan. It takes days of overeating to gain weight. If you over-indulge at a holiday meal, put it behind you. Return to your usual eating plan the next day without guilt or despair.

Exercise Schedule

• NOW is the time to PLAN for exercise

• Come five o'clock, when it's pitch black and cold out, you're a lot more likely to go to your warm home and watch TV if you don't have a regular fitness schedule that includes a variety of types of exercises.

How Much?

• For weight loss:– 300 minutes per week– 45-60 minutes per day

• For weight maintenance: – 150 minutes per week– 30 minutes per day

– Walking 10k steps per day

Exercise Log• Keep track of your activity– MapMyRun or MapMyWalk.com– My Pyramid Tracker

http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/ – Google Maps www.gmap-pedometer.com

• Pedometer:– FitBit, Jawbone, Garmin, FuelBand– New Lifestyles www.new-lifestyles.com– Accusplit Pedometer www.accusplit.com

Contact Info

• Erin McCarthy MS, RD– emccarth@nmff.org or 312-695-5137

• Holly Herrington MS, RD– hherring@nmff.org or 312-926-3624

• Appointment Services– 312-695-2300– Location: 19th Floor Galter Pavilion, Suite 100

QUESTIONS?

Thank YOU!Center for Lifestyle Medicine

www.nmff.org/clm