The Holidays and Overeating

December 19th, 2008

With Christmas and New Year’s just around the corner, most people will be attending several parties and will be repeatedly exposed to an abundance of food, dessert, and alcohol. It’s no coincidence that one of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight.

What most people don’t realize about weight gain is that sugar and refined carbohydrates are more to blame for weight gain than fat intake. It really doesn’t take much carbohydrate to satisfy your body’s need and anything extra is stored away as body fat. The faster the carbohydrate breaks down and gets into your blood, the more likely it is that some of it will be converted and stored as body fat. This is why sugar and refined carbohydrates like bread and pasta are so easy to gain weight from. They are quickly broken and lead to a surge of blood sugar. If you’re also drinking alcohol, this is magnified because most alcoholic drinks have a high sugar content, and even worse, alcohol directly stimulates an additional increase in blood sugar. All of this leads to fat, fat, and more fat. It’s also detrimental to your health in general, but that’s a story for another day.

Don’t get mad at me just yet for ruining your holiday excitement. Everyone looks forward to all the food associated with the holidays and there’s no reason you can’t enjoy it too. But that doesn’t mean you have to stuff yourself into a comatose state! Moderation is the key. Here are a few tips to help prevent you from overeating.

Eat before you go: Have a nutritious meal before you go someplace you know is going to have tempting food and treats. This way you’ll be less hungry and less likely to pig out.

Balance sugar with protein and fat: Consuming protein and fat along with sugary foods will slow the conversion to blood sugar and will reduce the amount that’s converted to body fat. This will also help to alleviate the energy crash that commonly follows a sugar rush. Especially aim to have some protein and fat prior to drinking alcohol.

Have some discipline: No matter what tips you employ to reduce the effects of consuming holiday treats, nothing but will power can keep you from overdoing it. If you repeatedly overload on sugar and carbohydrates, no matter how slowly you do it, or no matter how much fat and protein you mix in, you’re going to gain weight! Just think of the frustration and regret you’ll experience afterward and try to limit yourself to just having enough to enjoy yourself.

Have a great holiday and enjoy the satisfaction of not overeating!

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