Staying Slim During Holiday Season

Published January 2008

By Nicol Jenkins
Editor

It’s common to gain 7 or more pounds from eating desserts and all the extra trimmings during holiday season.

“It takes 3,500 calories to gain 1 pound of body fat, which means you have eaten 24,500 calories above what you need to maintain your body weight,” said health specialist Jan Levine.

But Levine, owner of Weight Loss and Wellness Center in Coral Springs, says staying slim during the holidays is possible.

“Right now is the time to be most cautious,” said Levine. “During the holiday season, people normally wait too long to eat and then get to a point where they are so hungry that they are no longer able to make rational decisions.”

Levine recommends not waiting more than four hours to eat between meals; instead you should be eating every two to three hours. And then, he says the shorter time you take between meals, the more control you have over what and the amount of food you eat.

Levine offered some more tips for healthy eating:

1. Drink 8 ounces of water before you eat. This fills up your stomach, and when you eat food, you will not eat the same amount of calories.
2. Eat salads before the main course dinner.
3. While eating, try 25 to 35 chews per mouthful of food. This will help in aiding digestion. Then by eating slower, this will give your body a chance to realize how much food you have eaten.
4. If going to eat desserts, cut back on the amount of carbohydrates in the meal. If you want to eat more carbohydrates, eat fewer desserts. Don’t do both!

He also recommended choosing meals wisely. For example, if eating turkey as a main meal, do not load up the gravy. Another helpful tip is to eat sweet potatoes or red potatoes instead of white potatoes; eat brown rice instead of white rice and vegetables with the main meal. This will slow down the rate of your carbohydrates turning to sugar, which will reduce weight gain. Remember when eating a carbohydrate always have a protein with it. Eating a carbohydrate alone will lead to weight gain.

Levine concludes: choose healthy!

Jan Levine will have a Health and Wellness column in the Our Town News where he will respond to questions about weight and wellness. Please e-mail your questions to Jan at janlevine@myacc.net. Some of the questions may be published in the upcoming columns. Or call 754-368-0154 for more information on in-home weight loss counseling.