Originally published December 18 2005
Health expert shares strategies on how to avoid holiday overeating
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Charles Stuart Platkin, certified personal trainer and founder of Nutricise.com, offers readers advice on how to avoid overeating during the holiday season.
The first is that Thanksgiving is the start of a six-week downward spiral for dieters that ends with extra pounds on your waistline.
The other is that it sets the tone for how you eat the rest of the year.
Research shows that those who maintain their diet regimen throughout the year are more likely to maintain their weight loss than those who take breaks for special occasions.
Plenty of people starve themselves before going to a party so they'll have "room" for all the great food.
Instead, try eating enough healthy food beforehand so you're full before you arrive.
The same rule applies to cutting your gains.
You might think that planning what you're going to eat beforehand takes all the fun out of the occasion.
In fact, practicing good eating behavior at special events can give you the sense of being in control.
Mentally rehearse a few phrases such as, "Oh, no thanks.
Getting the support of your friends and family is not always easy, but it's worth a try.
Talk to them about the healthy changes you're making and enlist their help to be encouraging.
Try consuming fewer calories the day before and after the holiday, recommends Jo Ann Carson, professor of clinical nutrition at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
By supplying your own food, you can eat without abandoning your healthy diet, bypass the higher fat or sodium foods, and still feel a part of the crowd," says North Carolina nutritionist Mara Z. Vitolins.
You can make healthier food, plus with all that moving, planning, cooking and preparing, you are bound to lose weight (as long as you give away the leftovers).
Alcohol decreases inhibitions -- potentially causing you to eat more -- plus it's loaded with calories.
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