Say the word “holidays” and women with weight worries start to fidget.
How will I be able to avoid all the foods I love but that are so high in X (fill in the blank as to the food ingredient of worry).- How can I avoid those holiday parties — I’m too fat and I hate how I look.
- All my fitness plans go out the window during the holidays — and that definitely means I’ll gain weight.
- That means the family is going to get together. I’m so tired of my family’s comments on my eating and weight.
Clearly, for many of us the holidays aren’t what they were meant to be.
Is Holiday Weight Gain Inevitable?
This wasn’t always the case. Not until people started dieting did issues like the above become such a problem.
In truth, the problems above still only occur for those who worry about their weight.
[div class=”callout-right”]Read This Related Article:
Top Reasons For Holiday Weight Gain[end-div]A study in the New England Journal of Medicine a few years ago showed that Americans gain, on average, only one pound between Thanksgiving and New Years. And if you’re up on a mindful, intuitive eating approach, you’ll know that that extra pound easily disappears when people return to their normal way of eating.
[quote]As Dr. Alan Wayler, our executive director, has long said, “It’s not what happens between Thanksgiving and New Years. It’s what goes on the rest of the year.”[/quote]
It’s Different for Weight Worriers
The study showed, however, that higher-weight people were likely to gain more weight during that time — more than 5 pounds on average.
Why the difference?
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When You Just Can’t Diet Anymore[end-div]There are no studies that I know of that answer that question. But my guess would be that higher-weight people are often dieters. And dieting means restricting. And restricting means overeating.
Combine that with the wonderful foods and stresses of the holidays and you definitely have a recipe for weight gain.
Learn How To Change The Picture This Holiday Season
Join us next Wednesday, October 22, at 12:30 pm ET, for our webinar on how to take the fear out of eating this holiday season and add back in the F-U-N.
We’ll discuss:
- How letting your body guide you in what you really want to eat helps you eat those special treats of the holidays in a way that leaves you feeling good.
- Why fitness routines fizzle during the holidays and why something is better than nothing.
- How to manage holiday food choices based on what you enjoy without feeling out of control.
- How the pressure about what you “should” and “shouldn’t” eat only enhances the “forbidden fruit” response.
Hope you’ll join us!
[hbutton link=”/put-f-u-n-back-food-holiday-season-webinar/”]Watch the Recording![/hbutton]
Hi Marsha, “Holiday’s”??? For me everyday, any day, time or place can take me by surprise foodwise.
It’s my consciousness about its super pleasurable power and my willingness acknowledging there is often struggle and pain of withdrawal. when I know I’ve eaten enough of something. Bottom line? For me to be comfortable weight/size whatever…not a mystery or magic…there simply are limits re: amounts.
Fond holiday regards, Harriet