Between the holiday parties and ever-present treats, December can be a tough month to make healthy choices. We talked to Lesley Rotchford, author of Womenโs Health Take It Off! Keep It Off! ($12.91), for easy-to-follow-tips for the holiday season and beyond.
โMost people gain an average of one pound over the holiday season (overweight people gain five or more pounds), and despite virtuous resolutions and new gym memberships, most people donโt take the weight off in the new year,โ says Rotchford. Setting up the groundwork for a diet and exercise plan now will prevent holiday weight gain, so you have less damage to undo in January. Hereโs how:
ย Keep temptation at bay
โThe key is avoidance,โ says Rotchford. If your coworker has peppermint bark sitting out on her desk, take a different route to the bathroom so you arenโt tempted to pop a piece in your mouth every time you walk by. And bring your own pre-portioned snacks to work (like a low-sugar nutrition bar, a Greek yogurt, or a Ziploc bag containing cut-up veggies or 1-ounce portion of almonds) so you arenโt starving and ravaging the office for treats.
โAt parties, stand as far away from the food table as possible to prevent temptation,โ says Rotchford. Want proof? A study by researchers at Cornellโs Food and Brand Lab showed that people with higher BMIs were more likely to seat themselves facing the buffet at a restaurant.
Avoid common holiday mistakes
First, skip the pre-party snack. Rotchford says this favorite advice from nutritionists doesnโt work in practice: โI have always found that to be unrealistic advice. If thereโs guacamole in front of me, Iโm going it eat whether Iโm hungry or notโespecially if Iโm drinking.โ Second, try to be mindful of small apps like meatballs and pigs-in-blankets, which are easy to inhale without realizing it. Instead, take time to make a balanced plate of food; include a treat or two, but fill up on mostly healthy options.
Use the holiday time to ease into a New Yearโs program
Key word here is planโnot start. โThe holiday season is not the time to suddenly adopt a strict exercise program,โ says Rotchford. โBetween parties, shopping, cooking, tree trimming, and other holiday festivities, none of us have a spare momentโnot to mention a spare hourโto hit the gym everyday.โ Same goes for intense dieting. Thereโs just too much temptation. Instead, use this month as an ease-in period. Rotchford notes that research shows it takes 66 days to develop a new habit. So get a jump on the process by establishing a few manageable healthy habits nowโlike going to the gym three times a week and only drinking on the weekends. โWhen I say manageable, I mean something you can realistically stick toโvowing to work out every single day and not drink at all are not habits most of us can swing this time of year,โ says Rotchford. By mid-to-late January, these new behaviors will start to have become ingrained and youโll feel healthierโwhich will make you want to keep them up!