Get Lean Enjoying Holiday Food

The title of this article is not a mistake. The statistics you’ve heard about the average American gaining weight between Thanksgiving and Christmas may be true -- but that doesn’t mean the weight gain was a result of simply a few holiday meals and parties.

The weight gain also is a result of the “little extras.” The additional parties, leftovers and missed workouts. You don’t have to give up your goal of staying lean the winter holiday season, only to head to a jam-packed health club in January that is desolate by February. Why wait until January?

You can enjoy the pumpkin pie, eggnog, pastries, mashed potatoes, and stuffing this holiday season, all while getting lean in the process. I have a secret for you: I have dedicated my life to fitness and still enjoy holiday foods. Here’s my other secret: I know professional athletes who eat an occasional pizza or some ice cream. They eat in a manner that supports their metabolism so well most of the time, that the occasional treat won’t have a negative impact. In fact, it may be healthy physiologically and psychologically for someone who is eating a restricted diet (for example, a body builder or boxer). Of course, they are incorporating a progressive resistance training program.

I and many other fitness professionals recommend eating small frequent meals containing a lean protein, some complex carbohydrates such as oatmeal or whole grain bread, and fibrous vegetables. The meal should be sugar free and low in saturated fat. An example of this would be chicken breast, brown rice, and a salad. This is the best way to increase metabolism through eating. You will simultaneously increase your thermic effect (chronic metabolism spike from the digestion, absorption, and storage of consumed food), increase your thyroid production (increased heat production due to the release of certain thyroid hormones), while maintaining or building muscle.

Maintaining or building a little muscle may be the best thing you can do to increase leanness. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. And the higher your metabolism is, the more likely you’ll be to burn fat and not store it. If you break down your holiday and party schedule, you should be able to limit your large festive meals to somewhere between a handful and a dozen (depending on how popular you are). If you “eat right” the rest of the time, and add progressive resistance and moderate cardiovascular training, you can actually use the holiday season to get in better shape.

These tips should prevent your waist line from expanding during the holidays:

• Exercise as much as possible. Remember that something is a lot better than nothing.

• Plan your day -- including your meals. The worst thing to do is not plan your day. I hate to use an old cliché but, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” The reason that cliché is used is because it’s true. If you have a day of shopping ahead but don’t plan your meals, what do you think you’ll wind up eating? Probably a number two super-sized at Mickey D’s. So plan. Bring some healthful food with you while you shop. Bring a turkey sandwich with whole wheat bread and some sprouts or bring a meal replacement shake or two.

• Use the rest of the day wisely. If you have a party to attend, you can still eat well the rest of the day and/or exercise that day. Eat a balanced meal before the party so you don’t overeat at the party. If the party is early, work out a few hours afterwards. If the party is late, squeeze in a workout before it.

• Stock up on healthy snacks. Stock your house or apartment with healthier foods like fruit, high fiber crackers, nuts and raisins and air popped popcorn. When you do have a craving you can snack on that instead of potato chips or brownies If the host or hostess of a party insists on giving you goodies to take home, kindly take them and toss them in the trash when you get home. You don’t have to eat junk food to be polite.

Happy Holidays!