Focus on healthy lifestyle to maintain weight this holiday season

Making sure you get right back on your weight loss plan after a big holiday meal is what will help you maintain your weight this holiday season.

"Most of us will eat snacks and sweets the week leading up to Thanksgiving or Christmas, then continue for days afterwards," said Gaye Lynn Hicks, RD, LD, with The Methodist Weight Management Center in Houston. "This often leads to a whole season of eating and before you know it you have put on five to 10 pounds in a short amount of time."

Instead of dieting, change your focus to a healthy lifestyle. Concentrate on eating healthy when you are not at holiday gatherings and exercising at least three days a week. Once you get into the "lifestyle mentality" it will be easier for you to eat healthier after indulging in fattening foods usually offered around the holidays.

"Look at your calendar and mark down the parties where you will want to eat more and others that will be more diet friendly," said Jill Sechi, clinical dietitian specialist with The Methodist Weight Management Center. "If you focus and plan ahead it will be easier to avoid the inevitable pitfalls of wanting to eat more at holiday gatherings."

When it comes to food, most of us have an all or nothing mentality. We think if we eat one big meal we have blown our weight loss plan for the week and then we tend to
eat even more. One day leads to two days to a week to a month and to a lot of excess weight. Your goal during the holiday season should be to maintain your weight and then concentrate on losing again after the first of the year.

"Most of the time it's all in our head. We think we've blown our diet when that is simply not true," Hicks said. "The bottom line is if you want to eat mashed potatoes, lathered in all kinds of stuff, during your holiday meal, do it. It will be easier to keep the holiday pounds off if you remember that your annual feast is just one meal."

Source: The Methodist Weight Management Center