It’s Holiday Time...Uh, oh.
The holiday season is rapidly approaching. We’re about to be
bombarded by deliciously addictive sugary and starchy foods. Yum. This is the
least wonderful time of the year from the perspective of an Obesity specialist.
Unfortunately many of my patients arrive at the office several pounds heavier
after New Year’s Day. “It was the holidays.” most people explain with an
embarrassed shrug.
Most adult Americans gain
1-2 pounds annually and the period between October 31 and January 1 is when two
thirds of that happens.1
Worse still, although most people do
lose some weight in January as part of their New Year’s resolution, it is only
a tiny fraction of what they gained during the holidays. Doesn’t sound so bad?
Only 1 or 2 pounds. Right?? It is a
big problem! This pattern typically repeats year after year resulting in the
steadily climbing weight that most adults have come to expect as part of so
called normal aging in America. In
this manner, a person who was at a healthy weight when she was age 18 could be
well overweight or obese by age 40. Take home point: Holiday weight mostly
sticks...forever.
It’s tough to say no: Friends, family and
neighbors, as well intentioned as they may be, can be your worst enemies when
it comes to sticking to your healthy nutrition goals. It all gets started with the candy onslaught
that is Halloween, noshing on the candy that is supposed to be for
trick-or-treaters or dipping in to the mountain that your kids collected. Then
comes Thanksgiving with Grandma’s luscious, love-infused apple pie? Who could
say no to Grandma? Christmas: Your
uncle’s homemade eggnog? Hanukkah: Bubbies beloved Latkes. Who can stop at just
one? Take some home? Sure Bubbie. Your cousin’s world-famous candied yams that
she made especially for you? Can’t say no to that. And all those Christmas cookies that get left
in break room and nobody sees you eat one, does it really count? YES. Your fat cells don’t care.
Is it OK to surrender
to unhealthy eating until January 2? You
can just go back to healthy eating in January, right? That’s how I used to
think. I believed I could make up for weeks of splurging by “being good” again.
I thought that overeating sweets and starches only affected my weight, and that
as long as I got back on track after the holidays and lost the 10 or 15 pounds
I’d gained, then no harm done.
But I’ve come to understand that this is not true.
The Price of Indulgence (or the Science of Splurging)
Eating too much sugar
can permanently damage your metabolism. The more often you indulge, the more
insulin-resistant you can become. You can’t get your carbohydrate tolerance
back; once it’s gone, it’s gone. The more sweets you eat over the course of
your lifetime, the more likely it is that you’ll gradually lose your ability to
process even healthier whole food sources of carbohydrates, like fruits and
vegetables. While some people are more susceptible to this process than others,
we are all at risk.
More than 50% of Americans are already insulin-resistant,
pre-diabetic, or diabetic. This means there’s more than a 50/50 chance that you, and most
of the people you love, are in the same sugary boat. Your sugar threshold
crossed. Insulin resistance is a huge risk factor for way more than just a
bulging waist. It’s associated with diabetes, heart disease, cancer and
dementia.
This is why it’s so important not to give in to seasonal
temptations. Even if you don’t want or need to eat a low-carbohydrate diet, avoiding sugars and refined carbohydrates is
the single most important thing any of us can do to preserve future health,
regardless of how old we are, how much we weigh, how much we exercise, or
whether or not we already have any medical problems. And while it’s true that
you can halt or even reverse many carbohydrate-induced diseases such as
obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cholesterol abnormalities by eating a
low-carbohydrate diet, conditions like cancer or dementia are much tougher to
reverse.
Practice Makes…Less Imperfect
I can’t promise you that I won’t succumb to temptation a few
times this joyous season—we shall see! My goal will be to do my best, which is
all any of us can do. It’s not about perfection, it’s about practicing making
healthy choices as often as possible, and not judging yourself or anyone else
about which sweet or savory treat may somehow find its way into one’s body.
[Hey, how did that cookie get in there?]
Dieting During the Holidays
Here’s a suggestion: Decide
on a strategy now, before the holidays hit. Make some rules and stick to them. Sticking strictly with your normal healthy
eating pattern is desirable but maybe you want a more flexible strategy.
- Agree to splurge only on dinner (and only
dinner) on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Or only at the Hanukkah or New
Year’s Eve party. Don’t say yes to every little treat that passes by every
day of the holiday season. Keep your splurges contained.
- Decide
what a splurge is. Example: Avoid the starchy, sugary parts of a meal and
save just one splurge for desert. You may want to set your heart on very
specific indulgences that will really be worth it, as opposed to having a
free-for-all. If you establish very clear goals you’re more likely to
stick to them than if you try to wing it. Then, once you’ve decided on
your goal, tell other people about it so they can support you. People will
understand if you explain that how you are eating is to support your
health goals.
- Make
your own foods that look like the bad stuff but are made with low carb
alternative ingredients. There are loads of low-carb holiday recipes on
the web. Example: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes/happy-holidays Snacks, main courses, sides and
even desserts can be made low-carb style. Your guests might be
none-the-wiser.
- Didn’t
bring your own food? You can still usually can select some low
sugar/starch options while passing over the bad stuff at most parties.
- Avoid
workplace junk. Go to work full. Eat eggs and cheese before going to work.
That will keep hunger down which will make it possible to avoid dipping your
hand into the giant box of chocolates somebody dropped off in the break
room. Nuts are usually a good holiday snacking choice. Most are low in
carbs. Keep your own supply of low starch snacks such as individually
wrapped cheese sticks or almonds at the ready just in case.
Holiday Specific problem foods:
- Halloween-
Candy, Candy-apples, Chocolate. Just everything.
- Thanksgiving-Stuffing,
cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and all other types of pies, pumpkin spice
anything. (On the other hand-Turkey is A OKAY)
- Christmas-cookies,
candies, Coke (yes even if Santa is selling it) Candied yams and candied
hams.
- Hanukkah:
Latkes, chocolate gelt.
- Alcohol:
1 or 2 glasses of dry wine is fine. Small amounts of distilled spirits are
also OK .However: Beer is loaded with carbs and lots
of mixers are sugary. Beware.
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