Looking back at our recent posts, we have been focusing a lot on holiday exercise, diet, and food. It is the holiday season after all and with this comes food. Plenty of food.

If you think about it, the four months from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day are full of celebrations (Christmas, New Years, Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day). Family gatherings tend to be more prevalent during these months, and most family gathering are focused on food. Who is making the turkey? And more importantly, is your favorite aunt making her famous cheesecake? Oh, and did I mention eggnog??

With all these temptations around us it is no wonder that we tend to overindulge and make poor food decisions. "We have four months of constant feasting," says Roger A. Clemens, DrPH, food science expert for the Institute of Food Technologists. "If we do feast, as many people do, without control, then we set ourselves up for bad patterns, ill health, and weight gain."

If you take some time to develop a plan during the winter months, you will be better prepared to take on these challenges, and you will likely emerge from the winter holiday season feeling (and looking) better.

Exercise
1. Be realistic – the holidays are not a great time to try and lose weight. Instead, be realistic and make a goal to maintain you current weight.
2. Schedule exercise time – put it in your calendar. Invite neighbors for a walk, or even suggest that your family members join in a brisk walk after a big meal. Exercise has also been shown to decrease stress levels and help you obtain more restorative sleep.

Eating right
1. Eat a filling breakfast – don’t be tempted to cut calories by skipping breakfast. This will just make you more hungry when mealtime comes
2. Don’t show up hungy – eat a small snack before heading to a party or you willl hit the food table hard and fast!
3. Don’t hang around the food table – you will be more likely to keep grabbing samples from the table if you are close
4. Pick one indulgence and stick with it – don’t cut yourself off completely from that piece of pie, but make sure you eat slowly and enjoy it

Stress/Sleep
1. Don’t over-commit this holiday season – if you are running around from one gathering to the next or to the mall for one last gift, you are probably stressed. Try to limit yourself and make sure you can enjoy the holidays. Stress also leads to emotional eating (not what you want).
2. Sleep – if you are stress (see above) your sleep will be affected. Your body needs 6-8hours of good sleep to restore all systems.
3. Alcohol – try to keep this in moderation as well since it hinders the quality of sleep you get (and dehydrates). While eggnog may allow you to nap, the quality of sleep is still not great.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS from the staff at PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS!!
We look forward to helping you reach your goals in 2012!

References
5 holiday food Traps

Holiday weight managment