It was once thought the average American gained five pounds during the holiday season because adults consume an additional 600 calories per day between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve compared to the rest of the year.
The good news is most only add an extra pound over the holidays, according to the National Institute of Health.
“Although an average holiday weight gain of less than a pound may seem unimportant, that weight was not lost over the remainder of the year …" Executive Director of National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases' National Task Force on the Treatment and Prevention of Obesity Dr. Susan Yanovski said.
April Ungerbuehler, a dietician at Middle Tennessee Medical Center, said the cumulative effect of holiday weight gain is even more pronounced on those who are already overweight and those who resolve to lose the weight after the New Year tend to fall short of their goals.
“People get very overwhelmed, and by mid-January most New Year’s resolutions have been broken by then.”
She said it’s easy to overeat during the holidays with parties and family feasts, but making sensible choices can minimize the damage.
“When we celebrate, we celebrate with food,” she said, adding southern food is especially high in fat and calories.
Ungerbuehler said to “be sensible about eating. … But most people have those one or two foods that trigger them.”
If you mentally and physically prepare for the coming feast, sensible eating is easier, she said.
First don’t fast before a large meal. Have a small snack before hand.
“When we let ourselves get more hungry we eat faster and we eat more,” she said, explaining it takes the body 20 minutes from the first bite to satisfy hunger.
She also suggested eating smaller portions of “trigger foods” instead of denying your craving completely.
“Having smaller portions of the things you enjoy will be more satisfying than eating everything because it’s there,” Ungerbuehler said.
She also suggested choosing low calories alternatives to high calorie drinks, like diet mixers for alcoholic drinks or just plain water instead of the holiday punch.
Sensible Cooking
For the most part, holiday food can be healthy, Ungerbuehler said.
The most common foods found at a Thanksgiving feast are high in vitamins and low in fat. It what’s done to them between field and table that make them bad for us.
Turkey, for example, is a lean meat. But when it’s basted in butter with a crispy skin, the fat content climbs.
Just removing the skin reduces the fat content by 5 grams to 7 grams, Ungerbuehler said.
Even a deep fried turkey is low fat with the skin removed.
“As long as it’s properly fried, it won’t drastically increase the amount of fat,” she said.
Ungerbuehler said the five most common foods –turkey, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, cranberries and green beans – eaten during the holidays, are all good sources of vitamins and minerals, but when butter, cream and sugar are added they become fattening.
So, if you must gorge on holiday comfort foods, Ungerbuehler suggested cooking with low-fat substitutions.
Take green bean casserole, for example, using low-fat cream of mushroom soup and skim milk instead of the high-fat ingredients can drastically reduce fat content, she said.
She also suggested using a sugar substitute or going half sugar and half substitute in desserts to reduce the calorie content.
Whipped cream tends to dramatically up the calorie count too, she said, because one cup contains 14 grams of fat.
“If you use a lot of that on dessert or drinks, … you really add on some of those fat grams,” Ungerbuehler said, adding low-fat alternatives or evaporated milk can be whipped to cut the fat content in half.
To lower the cholesterol in dishes, substitute two egg whites or one-fourth cup egg substitute per egg, she added.
But try out the substitution first to make sure the taste isn’t affected too much before serving the dish to the entire family, she cautioned.
Ungerbuehler also warned against using fat-free substitutions because they can change the texture and taste of a dish too much.
By following these simple suggestions, the average one-pound weight gain can be a thing of the past and “you can still enjoy your favorite foods but not the calories and fat they come packed with,” Ungerbuehler said.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com. |
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