5 Holiday Weight Gain Myths

Every year about this time, I hear the same holiday songs. I hear people “sing” the old refrain of overindulgence — “I have to have it.” Whether it’s for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or other seasonal celebrations, people have a hard time with holidays and overeating. Some throw up their hands and give in to temptation; others rationalize the holidays as a time in which they are destined to put on pounds.

Myth 1. Everyone gains at least 5 pounds over the holidays, so I may as well accept it.

Well, the good news is the average American gains from 1/2 pound to 1 pound between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. The bad news is they don’t ever lose it. It’s not as dramatic as 7 to 10 pounds that was formerly thought to be the norm, but even if you gain just 1 pound over the holidays, you may also gain another pound over the winter, and maybe one more during the summer holidays. Pretty soon you’re on the next pant size and a new wardrobe.

Myth 2. I can take a “vacation” from my diet, because come January, I’ll go right back on it.

Don’t do it, because you may never come back! I went to a Thanksgiving dinner last year, and saw someone I’d not seen in a year. I congratulated her on her significant weight loss over the previous year, and when she told me she was “taking a vacation” from her diet for the holidays, I cringed. I told her that you can’t vacation from your healthy diet and expect to stay at your goal weight. Extra calories are just what your fat cells are looking for. Unless you’ve built up a good amount of lean muscle mass by exercising with resistance bands or light weights, you’re going to regain the weight as quick as you can say “I’ll have seconds of pumpkin pie.”

Myth 3. I’m going to fast all day, so I can eat all I want at the holiday party this year.

Wrong. Don’t do it. Don’t put your body in starvation mode. Starving yourself usually backfires, and you wind up overeating at the party. The best strategy for weight control is to eat lower calorie, higher fiber foods such as crunchy vegetables like broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. Eat smaller meals more frequently, and when you get to the party, continue to think small. Have a small portion of everything so you’re satisfied, but not stuffed.

Myth 4. I can’t diet when I go to someone’s house for dinner.

Give yourself the power to say no tactfully. Say “no” in creative ways. You can say to your host, “Oh, I’m sorry, my plan doesn’t include (name the food), but I surely thank you!” Or “Oh, thank you so much, I’m sure it’s wonderful! I’m too full right now, but thanks for asking.”

Myth 5. My family would miss it if I didn’t make the traditional favorites.

Make this a healthy holiday season and change your traditional fatty favorites into delicious, healthy meals. Santa is roly-poly for a reason. “Living large” is not my New Year’s resolution. Living lean is. Don’t be a Scrooge with taste, but be frugal with calories — that’s how you eat delicious foods without guilt.

Top Tips for making your holiday recipes healthy ones:–Low-fat cooking techniques should be used. Bake, broil, grill, poach and saute foods in a very little bit of fat in a non-stick pan.
Use nonstick pans for grilling, baking breads and cookies, for sauteing and even for soup. Nonstick is one of life’s little pleasures — you need to just lightly spray with cooking oil.

–Reduce the fat in the recipes. One of the simplest methods of making all your recipes healthier is reducing the amount of fat in a recipe. If the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil, use 1/4 cup, plus 1/4-cup fruit puree or unsweetened applesauce. This is good for any quick bread, cookie or cake. Yeast breads and piecrusts need a precise balance of ingredients, but experiment to see if you get acceptable results.
–Don’t add fat to your food, especially unhealthy, saturated fats. Instead of basting the turkey with butter, try flavorful vegetable broth, white wine or orange juice (my personal favorite).
–Buy low-fat and nonfat varieties of milk, sour cream, yogurt and cheese. You’ll lower the fat and calories effortlessly.
–Substitute 3 tablespoons of cocoa plus 1 tablespoon of canola oil for 1 ounce of baking chocolate, and lower the saturated fat.
–Two egg whites can substitute one whole egg, depending on the size. All the fat, cholesterol and most of the calories from eggs are in the yolk.
–Substitute crunchy cereal for bread crumbs. I like to use crushed corn flakes or nuggets like Grape Nuts.
–Cut servings smaller! Make that cake serve 12 instead of eight.
–Buy the leanest cuts of meat, and substitute 1/3 ground turkey breast. Don’t buy ground turkey because it also contains skin and dark meat, making it just as caloric as ground meat or more.

Susan L. Burke eDiets Contributor