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8
The News Argus
November 2005
Read on
This holiday season
doesn’t have to be filled
with over-indulgence
HEALra&EITNESS
Holidays don’t have to be the binging season
By Jill Miller, M.P.H.
ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR IN HEALTH AND HUMAN
PERFORMANCE AND EXERCISE SCIENCE
'Tis the season of gluttony—it starts
in October with the temptation of "bite
size" Halloween candy, builds momen
tum with a double helping of
Thanksgiving mash potatoes, and final
ly ends with a buffet of tasty appetizers
and a champagne toast promising to
end the excess.
It seems Americans celebrate every
thing they can conjure up, and some
times just being Friday will do, until
they waddle belly-first into the New
Year with a trail of crumbs behind
them. By January, many Americans
consider chocolate and alcohol a new
food group and their largest pair of
elastic waistband sweat pants as "dress
clothes". When did the holidays
become all about food?
Surprisingly, the average American
gains a pound or less from
TTianksgiving to Christmas, which
doesn't sound that bad. The big prob
lem is that very few people lose the
weight after the holidays. If you contin
ue stacking up these holiday season
splurges, the pounds start adding up
and a healthy body weight quickly
becomes the Ghost of Christmas Past.
To maintain weight and good health
during the holidays, it is best to start
the season off with a plan, and that is
the best thing you can do—simply, have
a plan.
Plan your day. If you know you are
going to have a big dinner or party,
watch the calories on other meals — but
don't skip because this can lead to gorg
ing yourself. In the morning, try eating
a high-fiber breakfast cereal or oatmeal
with skim milk, add a piece of fruit and
juice, and you are off to a great start.
For lunch consider a turkey sandwich
piled high with veggies and add sides
of pretzels, fruit, and a bottle of water.
During the day snack on low calorie
foods, such as vegetables, rice cakes,
and fruit.
While you are at the party, fill up
on lower calorie items first, like a veg
etables and fruit based selections. Then
when you are less hungry, have smaller
portions of your favorites like cheeses.
chocolates, and desserts.
Watch for hidden calorics in alco
hol, appetizers, and desserts. For exam
ple, a regular beer has approximately
150 calories and a glass of red wine has
nearly 100 calories. Classic appetizers
like nachos, blooming onions, and fried
potatoes can pack as many or more
calories than a meal, and desserts like
cheesecake have over 400 calories per
slice.
Moderation is the holiday mantra.
While moderation may not be the holi
day mantra with your pocketbook, it
should be with your serving sizes. An
appropriate portion of meat is approxi
mately the size of a deck of cards, a
serving of pasta is equal to one ice
cream scoop, and a serving of cheese
should be the size of four dice.
Be mindful of your physical activi
ty and increase or maintain your physi
cal activity during the holidays — it
also helps with dealing with stress. Try
to accumulate nearly 60 minutes of
physical activity most everyday. Take a
brisk walk, or make your activity func
tional by parking in a remote spot at
the mall, walking to the grocery store,
or using your bike for transportation.
Playing football or other sports with the
family counts too—take the party out
side after the big meal for some fresh
air and fun.
Don't restrict yourself, one
overindulgence won't break you. The
average American consumes about 25
percent more calories than normal on
Christmas and Thanksgiving. While
that is a lot of excess calories, it is only
two days out of the year. It is what you
do everyday between Thanksgiving
and Christmas that makes a difference.
Don't let one celebration give you
license to continue indulging the rest of
the week—continual excess will have
you dragging and zap your energy
when you need it most.
Along with your holiday vacation
plans, create a strategy for a healthy
holiday season. Focus on family, fun,
moderation, and good health and make
the 10-week long "all you can eat" sea
sonal buffet just as passe as I hope gas
guzzling cars and those awful gauchos
will be.
Kilpatrick, from page 7
lar to Mayor Kilpatrick's
stud, echcied G r i ffin's senti
ment.
"It is imperative that we
thoroughly understand a
person and their nature and
culture before we try to
judge them. 1 got my earring
because it was the trend and
wouldn't take mine out if in
his position," Caldwell said.
He added: "You can't take
someone's physical appear
ance and judge someone. If
you must judge someone,
judge them by the content of
their character, not by their
physical appearance."
Where to go when you need to know
The News Areus
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