10 Tips To Avoid The
Holiday Bulge -And Inner Thoughts About Them
Do you find it almost impossible to stay conscious and contentious
about weight and nutrition during the holidays? Of course
you do. More than half of all Americans are overweight. All
American's are in this together.
You can take heart from a new government study which shows
most Americans gain about a pound over the holiday. You're
not alone. The study shows that during the holiday period,
for the people in the study, two main things influenced the
holiday weight gain: level of hunger and level of activity.
Those who reported being less active or more hungry had the
greatest weight gain.
If you can stay focused on dealing with just those two things,
you'll probably win.
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of weight gain,"
according to Dr. Samuel Klein. He is Director of the Center
for Human Nutrition as Washington University in St. Louis,
MO. "Preventing the increase in weight is a lot easier
and better than actually gaining weight and then trying to
get it off again."
The answer is simple. Eat less and exercise more.
The good news is that most of the people overestimate how
much they had gained. Fewer than 10% gain 5 pounds or over.
The bad news is that although the one pound gained seems
like a small amount, that weight WAS NOT LOST during the rest
of the year and those single pounds accumulate over the years
and add up to obesity.
Here are some helpful hints and tips put together by skinny
people to help you avoid the tiny little weight watching issues
you face during this joyous season [along with the thoughts
going through weight watcher Wanda's head as she listened
to the skinny people happily chirping out their advice. NOTE:
Wanda isn't her real name.]
1)."You SHOULD stay active, darling. The best thing for
you to do is to stick to your regular schedule and routine."
[Routine? Wanda's family doesn't have no stinking routine
in November and December. Wanda doesn't have no stinking time
for her regular yoga classes, workouts at the gym, long dog
walks, you ninny, because in addition to shopping, home decorating
and cooking, Wanda has to take every one of the kids to EXTRA
practices and activity for pageants, concerts and freaking
fund raisers! Wanda's too ACTIVE to stay active, darling.]
2). "Don't let yourself get hungry. Don't arrive at
the party starving. Be sure you eat your normal, healthy meals,
especially breakfast. A protein rich breakfast "resets"
the body and starts it off not hungry. Don't starve yourself,
thinking you can "save up" calories. Fill up before
the big holiday feasts with healthy vegetable snacks."
[Normal? There ain't no stinking "normal" in November
and December, and Wanda's not sure she ever has normal, healthy
meals. She's got a life to run. Wanda doesn't't't know where
YOU'RE having Thanksgiving, but Wanda's family's appetizer
table has God's own Cheese Puffs and Ruffles with sour cream/onion
dip, Brie on sourdough and 80 plates of cookies and bowls
of peanut M&Ms on every available surface! There is nary
a vegetable snack in sight.]
3) "How can you keep the pounds off at calorie rich
parties? Stay away from the food! Literally ... stay on the
other side of the room from the buffet table or appetizers
tray. [Wanda liked this one. She'll just go plant herself
in the bathroom and lock the door. Maybe she can find a place
under the pile of coats in the back bedroom. A nap sounds
nice.]
4). "Wear clothes which are slightly tight and your
favorites. You'll think twice about the third helping if you
can't let your belt out a notch. Always remember there's about
8 pounds between dress sizes." [What skinny sadist came
up with this bright idea? Wanda bets she's a size 2, and hides
an eating disorder!]
5). "Portion size is the real secret. Keep salad portions
large and all other portions extra small. When it comes to
sweets, think quality, not availability. Just because the
candy corn is there doesn't mean you have to eat it. Don't
be afraid to cut off "just a bite" of a high calorie
treat. Put the rest back on the serving tray. If you're the
hostess, pre-cut high calorie items into tiny portions to
help your friends. Just a bite may be plenty to satisfy you.
[Just a bite! Just a bite? Wanda's stressed to the max and
darn it, Wanda DESERVES a candy treat ... and a WHOLE one.
Heck, Wanda's double stressed, so she deserves ...]
6). "You don't need to be stressed. Take Time for You.
Get a massage or a nice facial. Sit down and slip your shoes
off." [Don't you know Wanda's facing a month and a half
on shopping overdrive and the only place to sit down is at
the mall's fast-food court? McDonald's doesn't have a massage
spa. If Wanda slips her shoes off, she'll NEVER get them back
on again, you fool.]
7). "Keep up your food diary ... every day of the holiday
... it will help you pinpoint your special weaknesses. Just
one 150 calorie chocolate chip cookie each day will add up
to an extra pound in only 3 weeks." [Wanda can't even
find her food diary in chaos house. And, she really needed
the information on the cookies. Thank you very much. Wanda
just ate three, and she doesn't need any food diary to pinpoint
this little weakness.]
8). "Only eat things you really want and care about.
So what if your neighbor brought okra au gratin everyone's
raving about? Use that space on your plate for a homemade
roll, hot from the oven. Put real butter on it. Life is choices.
Treat yourself to what you want and LEAVE THE REST IN THE
SERVING DISH."[Good advice. How thankful do you think
Wanda'd be after a feast of Brussels sprouts and tofu salad
while she's passing the yams, potatoes and gravy to Aunt Lucille?
Wanda bets Lucille's glad she got granddad's wiry build instead
of those wonderful wide childbearing hips from grandma's "peasant"
stock!]
9). Drink water instead of alcohol which has empty calories
and lowers will power. Avoid sugary sodas which throw your
metabolism into pendulum swings. [You didn't mention eggnog.
Eggnog is OK, then, right?]
10). "Don't eat while you cook. Those little "tastes"
can turn into 1000 calories before you've blinked." [Wanda
just spent 304 hours in the kitchen, cooking. She HAS to taste
everything before she serves it, or they'll hate it and won't
love her any more. And besides, cookie dough doesn't have
any calories, does it?]
Well, that's all 10 pieces of holiday advice. Here's just
one parting thought from Wanda.
[Santa's fat and everybody loves him! The baby Jesus is fat,
too. The turkey is so fat it can hardly stand up! Nobody buys
a skinny Christmas tree, do they? Get a grip. Get a life.
Have a HAPPY holiday.}
|
