Here’s some jolly good news: Research suggests people typically gain only about one to two pounds over the holiday season. The bad news is that it may take as long as five months to take those extra pounds off.
In the study, published in September in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers looked at the weight fluctuations of more than 1,700 Americans over the course of a year. They found that people started to gain weight around Thanksgiving and continued to do so soon until soon after the ball dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. While the folks studied only gained about one and a half pounds on average during the holidays, they didn’t see their slimmer, pre-holiday weights until the spring, long after the winter thaw. Of course, you could be one of those unlucky folks who doesn’t even lose the weight in spring and instead carries it over year after year until it snowballs into a hefty mound after a decade of holiday festivities.
[See: Holiday Vices: How to Have Fun Without Overdoing It.]
To avoid ringing in the New Year with more of you than you want, try these three easy strategies:
1. Sip on soup.
The best holiday party eating strategy starts before you leave your house. Research suggests that eating a low-calorie soup prior to a meal can help reduce your hunger and appetite at the meal. Try heating up a mug of hearty vegetable soup prior to the party to keep you from chowing down on those high-calorie appetizers that typically welcome you at the door of every holiday event.
Tip: Make up a large pot of vegetable soup and ladle it into individually-sized, freezer- and microwave-proof containers. Stack them in the freezer and reheat them in the microwave for a filling snack before heading out to every holiday party you attend.
[See: 11 Healthy Veggie Recipes That Prove That Slow Cookers Are for More Than Meat.]
2. Choose healthy buffet foods first.
How you tackle the buffet table may help you better control your weight. In a study, researchers randomly assigned over 120 people to one of two breakfast buffets and allowed them to choose anything they wanted to eat. Each buffet table contained the same foods, but displayed them in different orders. The first buffet started with healthier foods options, such as fruit and low-fat yogurt, and ended with higher-calorie options like cheesy eggs, bacon and cinnamon rolls. The other buffet table had the same foods but in the reverse order.
The researchers found that more than 85 percent of people took fruit when it was the first item on the buffet table, but only 54 percent took fruit when it was at the end of the buffet table. Loading up your plate with higher-calorie foods will leave little room for foods like fruits and veggies that can be just as delicious but pack fewer calories.
Tip: Scout out the offerings at the buffet table before you get in line. Fill your plate with lower-calorie veggies, salads and fruit first, then add a more measured helping of the higher-calorie items.
3. Downsize your plates.
When it comes to plates, size matters. According to Cornell University researcher Brian Wansink, the size of our dinner plates have increased by 22 percent since the 1960s. This larger-sized dinner plate may cause you to unintentionally heap on more food than you really need to feel full. Even when portion sizes on two plates are the same, Wansink says the smaller plate provides an optical illusion of providing a more robust, satisfying meal. The larger plate, on the other hand, gives the illusion that you are being short-changed, so you’ll be more likely to go back for seconds.
[See: 6 Ways to Train Your Brain for Healthy Eating.]
Tip: To control dinner portions at holiday parties, use a smaller dessert plate as your dinner plate to give the illusion of a hefty meal. As a result, you’ll consume more reasonable portions and calories.
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3 Research-Backed Ways to Halt Holiday Weight Gain originally appeared on usnews.com
