Plan ahead to avoid holiday weight gain

Put your diet on hold from Thanksgiving to New Year’s and try to simply maintain your weight for awhile

Along with the joys of the year-end holidays is the temptation to overindulge and eat all the goodies that come your way. For anyone who is dieting, the last five or six weeks of the year are a good time to focus on weight maintenance rather than weight loss, Dallas’ Cooper Wellness experts say. To enjoy the season, continue watching calories, but wait until the New Year to return to your weight-loss plan, they advise.

Cooper Wellness runs two and six-day healthy stayovers in Dallas focused on exercise, nutrition, and health for life.

Jill Turner, vice president of operations for Cooper Concepts said, “Look at your calendar in November to see how many holiday meals and parties you have lined up through January 2.” Over the course of six weeks, your schedule might include nine or ten major events, including Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Day, New Year’s Eve and Day, plus one or two company parties and two or three parties with friends, she said.

Turner advises watching calories and eating healthy foods during regular meals from late November through December. “That way, at special dinners and parties, you can eat most of what’s offered, at least in moderation,” she said. Another good tip Turner gives, “At a dinner party you should circle the buffet table at least once without a plate to see what’s offered, and then make a selection. You will choose less if you plan out what you are going to have instead of just digging in.”

If you’re cooking and hosting holiday dinners, reduce calories in recipes when you can, without compromising holiday flavors, says Kathleen Duran-Thal, nutrition director at Cooper Wellness. Make sure your menu includes plenty of vegetables, fruits, lean meats, seafood, whole grains, and low-fat, dairy products.

Appetizers tend to be loaded with calories, and it’s easy for guests to eat too many of them. Serve healthy hors d’oeuvres, like crudités or fresh vegetables, with low-fat dips made from chick peas or eggplant, says Duran-Thal. Create nutritious appetizers with flavors and foods from your region. A couple of ideas are black-bean croquettes with salsa, or thin slices of spinach quiche. Another option is seafood — such as shrimp cocktail and smoked salmon.

Try to cook healthier versions of holiday favorites and use cream sauces, butter, and whipped cream lightly, Duran-Thal says. Instead, substitute chicken stock, low-fat milk, fat-free yogurt, and light cream cheese when you can. For instance, make green bean almandine rather than the traditional, green-bean casserole. Serve peas, corn or cauliflower instead of the creamed holiday versions.

Roasting and grilling meat, seafood, potatoes, and vegetables brings out natural flavors and keeps calories down, Duran-Thal says. Roasted sweet potatoes are an alternative to the usual sugary, baked dish in Thanksgiving feasts. Serve healthier desserts, too, like sorbet with fresh fruit. If you serve pie, make it pumpkin pie with non-fat evaporated milk for a healthy choice. Substitute applesauce or low-fat yogurt for oil in baked goods.

At a holiday buffet, fill your own plate with foods that are simply prepared, without sauces. Then sit down and take time to enjoy each bite. Wait 15 minutes before going back for seconds so that your mind and stomach can register how full you are. If you’re still hungry, try eating more vegetables and salad, instead of meat, potatoes, pasta, bread, and rolls.

And since the real meaning of the holidays is being with family and friends, talk to cousins or other relatives you haven’t seen in awhile, rather than eating more, suggests Todd Whitthorne, director of Cooper Wellness.

If the holiday meal is during the daytime, organize a half-hour walk outdoors after your food is digested, says Susie Kania, exercise physiologist at Cooper Wellness. “And if the party is at night at your house, put on some music and try to get the best dancers moving so others will join them.”

If you’re traveling over the holidays, do a little planning for the road, Turner says. Pack snacks and choose healthy, portable options, like bananas, apples, nuts, dried fruit, trail mix and washed baby carrots, and celery sticks. Fill an insulated cooler with fat-free yogurt, low-fat cheese sticks, and fruit juices. And take a few minutes to review online, nutrition information, posted by fast-food chains with restaurants on your route.

By planning, you’ll enjoy the holidays and might not gain any weight at all. If you do go overboard at the smorgasbord, however, “Don’t worry and beat yourself up, but instead learn from it and plan to eat less at your next party,” Whitthorne says.

For more information on Cooper Wellness and their 6-day and 2-day wellness programs, go to www.cooperwellness.com or call 972-386-4777.

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