Like many of us,  Santa might have some weight challenges. It wouldn’t be too surprising with all of the cookies and milk left out for him on Christmas Eve.  Plus, he uses a sleigh pulled by reindeer so he just slides down the chimney. That might be tough with his jolly belly and a big bag of presents slung over his shoulder — but it doesn’t use up a whole lot of calories!

Although, Santa does travel a lot. On Christmas Eve he visits an estimated 92 million households. Walking.about.com figures that if all the households were evenly distributed across the earth, Santa would travel 0.78 miles between houses — covering a total of 71,760,000 (71.8 million) miles.

What Are Santa’s Stats?

According to NORAD, Santa tips the scale at 260 pounds and he’s 5’7” tall, giving him a BMI of 40.7 — which, unfortunately, classifies him as obese.

Walking.about.com guesses that Santa weighs 250 pounds. They think that he moves pretty quickly because he does have to get his deliveries done in one night, so they estimate that Santa burns 13 billion calories on Christmas Eve.

If Santa climbed stairs delivering his presents, Big12Hoops calculates that he would climb the equivalent of 9.5 billion stairs.   He would burn 0.11 calories for each stair, or 1.045 billion calories. That’s far fewer than 13 billion calories, but it’s still a whole lot of energy expenditure that would leave him mighty thin, maybe so thin that he could slip through a crack on Christmas morning.

Does Santa Need All The Milk and Cookies Left Out For Him?

Two small cookies and a cup of skim milk (no full fat dairy for Santa, he might have cholesterol issues) clock in at about 200 calories. If Santa snacked at each of the 92 million households, he would chow down on 18.4 billion calories.

That would mean he would gain 1,529,350 pounds every Christmas. If he walked instead of rode in his sleigh – Rudolph is probably well-trained enough to take the lead without Santa’s hands on the reins — he’d have to circle the earth 1,183 times to burn off the extra calories from all the milk and cookies.

What If Santa Snacked On Veggies Instead Of Cookies?

If Santa had a cup of carrot and celery sticks rather than cookies and milk at each house, he’d be eating just 50 calories per house visit — which would add up to 4.6 billion calories for the evening. Since he burns off 13 billion calories by walking and maneuvering down chimneys, he’d actually lose so much weight that he’d disappear from sight.

One idea would be for him to have a nice combination of veggies at most households and cookies and low fat milk every thousand or so households. That probably would keep him happy, energetic, and in caloric balance!

But … Santa has been delivering presents and eating cookies for a very long time. He magically reappears every year as jolly as ever. He seems to be doing quite nicely with his usual routine and cookie consumption, don’t you think?

So … Go for it, Santa!

Merry Christmas to all …

and don’t forget to leave out the milk and cookies.

The post Is Santa’s Belt Getting A Little Too Tight? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Poor Rudolph — he’s had to put up with all of those clown nose jokes over the years.

It turns out that scientists have determined that reindeer have more abundant blood vessels in their noses than humans. The British Medical Journal reports that a team of scientists and researchers used a hand-held video microscope to observe the nasal capillaries of reindeer as they ran on a treadmill. No joke!

The capillaries in reindeer noses are 25% thicker than those in human noses. Those capillaries are critical for heating and cooling, delivering oxygen, and humidifying inhaled air so the hardworking reindeer noses don’t freeze.

The mystery of Rudolph’s red nose is a mystery no longer. The explanation: reindeer have a large number of red blood cells that flow through small nasal vessels – which make reindeer noses glow. Go Rudolph!

Merry Christmas from Eat Out Eat Well.

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Is Santa Having Trouble Buckling His Belt?

It seems that Santa has some weight challenges – no small wonder with all of the cookies and milk left out for him on Christmas Eve! Plus, he uses a sleigh pulled by reindeer so he just slides down the chimney. That might be a tough task with that belly and big bag of presents, but it doesn’t use up a whole lot of calories.

On Christmas Eve, Santa visits an estimated 92 million households. Walking.about.com figures that if all households were evenly distributed across the earth, Santa would travel 0.78 miles between houses — for a total of 71,760,000 (71.8 million) miles.

What Are Santa’s Stats?

According to NORAD, Santa tips the scale at 260 pounds and he’s 5’7” tall, giving him a BMI of 40.7 — which, unfortunately, makes him obese.

Walking.about.com guessing that Santa weighs 250 pounds and thinking that he’s a pretty fast walker because he does have to get his deliveries done in one night, estimates that Santa burns 13 billion calories on Christmas Eve.

If Santa climbed stairs delivering his presents, Big12Hoops calculated that he would climb the equivalent of 9.5 billion stairs.   He would burn 0.11 calories for each stair, or 1.045 billion calories. That’s far fewer than 13 billion calories, but it’s still a whole lot of energy expenditure that would leave him mighty thin, maybe so thin that he could slip through a crack on Christmas morning.

Does Santa Need All The Milk and Cookies Left Out For Him?

Two small cookies and a cup of skim milk (no full fat dairy for Santa, he might have cholesterol issues) clock in at about 200 calories. If Santa snacked at each of the 92 million households, he would chow down on 18.4 billion calories.

That would mean he would gain 1,529,350 pounds every Christmas. If he walked instead of rode in his sleigh –Rudolph is probably well-trained enough to take the lead without Santa’s hands on the reins — he’d have to circle the earth 1,183 times to burn off the extra calories from the milk and cookies.

What If Santa Snacked On Veggies Instead Of Cookies?

If Santa had a cup of carrot and celery sticks rather than cookies and milk at each house, he’d be eating just 50 calories — which would add up to 4.6 billion calories for the evening. Since he burns off 13 billion calories by walking, he’d actually lose so much weight that he’d disappear from sight.

Maybe the best idea for him would be to have a nice combination of veggies at most households and cookies and low fat milk every thousand or so households. That probably would keep him happy, energetic, and in caloric balance!

But … Santa has been delivering presents and eating cookies for a very long time. He magically reappears every year as jolly as ever. He seems to be doing quite nicely with his usual routine, don’t you think?

The post Do You Leave Cookies For Santa? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

The holidays are here. You can’t go anywhere without sugary, glittery, shiny holiday themed food calling your name.

Holidays create a “perfect storm” for eating way too much. They combine some of the worst cues and triggers for overeating: family drama, too much food (much of it sweet and fatty), tradition and ritual, stress eating, and the attitude of “why not – it’s the holidays.” All too frequently the default then becomes: “I’ll start my diet in the New Year, or after Easter, of in September after Labor Day” – or after a month of Sundays!

Do You Really Want To Count Calories On A Holiday?

No way. Holiday food is special and holiday traditions and rituals are hallmarks we count on.

When you restrict yourself of may foods, it often means that you end up depriving yourself of traditional and possibly your favorite foods that you associate with holidays. When you do deprive yourself of those cherished foods, more often than not you end up later that night standing in front of an open fridge rummaging for leftovers still feeling the sting from the stare down you had with your favorite foods earlier in the day.

What’s Your Holiday Game Day Plan?

What’s your game plan? Does it allow you to enjoy the holiday and the food (really important). On a holiday you know you’ll eat a bit more – or maybe a bit more than a bit more – than on a typical day.

Balance it out by allowing for a range of calories during the holiday and the days surrounding it. To maintain your weight, the overall number of calories you eat should approximate the calories you burn, so compensate by eating a little lighter the days before and after (and maybe adding in some extra activity).

15 Tips and Strategies

Here are some tips — choose what you can commit to and that will work best for you. Then build them into your personal holiday eating plan.

1. Don’t starve yourself the day of a holiday meal or party. If you attempt to save up calories for a splurge, you’ll probably be so hungry by the time dinner is served you’ll end up shoving food into your mouth faster than you can say turkey. Have a protein and fiber snack (around 150 calories) and something to drink beforehand, but don’t skip meals or arrive famished.

2. Give yourself permission to NOT eat something that you usually eat just because it’s a holiday tradition. Certain foods may taste, look, or smell like Thanksgiving or Christmas, but that doesn’t mean you have to eat them. It’s still the holiday without them.

3. Ask yourself if you’re eating something because you like it or are you eating it for another reason — perhaps because you’ve been eating the same holiday food since you were a kid. Maybe you don’t even like the food any more or it disagrees with you. So why are you eating it? Who’s forcing you to? Eat what you want — not what you think you should.

4. Say no to the friends and relatives who push the extra piece of pie and the second helping of stuffing, or who constantly refill your drink. You’re the one stepping on the scale or zipping up your jeans the next day – not them.

5. Have your own personal rules and swaps for what you will or won’t eat and commit to sticking with them ahead of time. Your rules are an integral part of your game plan. Examples might be: I really want pecan pie for dessert so I’ll only have one biscuit without butter with my meal. Or, I’ll only take two hors d’oeuvres from the passed trays at a cocktail party. This will both limit how much you eat and will also make you think carefully and choose what you really want instead of randomly sampling everything.

6. Acknowledge your red flags, your trigger foods. Can you be near Christmas cookies without eating a dozen? Do you overeat at family events? There’s no need to psychoanalyze why. Just know the things that serve as your red flags and have a plan to deal with them.

7. Decide what’s really worth an indulgence. Then fill up on the lower calorie volume foods — like vegetables — so you won’t have tons of room left for the splurges. If you’re a sucker for desserts, stick with lean protein and veggies for your main course followed by a reasonable slice of cheesecake. Or if the stuffing and au gratin potatoes are calling your name, have them, but skip or skimp on the desserts.

8. Make a deal (with yourself) that you can eat what you want during dinner. Put the food on your plate, eat it with a fork, and enjoy every last morsel. Clean your plate if you want to. But – that’s it. No seconds and no double-decking the plate.

9. Choose your beverages wisely. Alcohol clocks in at 7 calories a gram. Alcohol with mixers adds even more calories. Plus, alcohol takes the edge off lots of things – including your ability to stick to your plan. Drink water. It fills you up. Have a diet soda if you want. If you’re going to drink alcohol, try limiting the amount – think about alternating with water or seltzer.

10. Control your food environment the best you can. Don’t hang around the buffet table or stand next to the platter of delicious whatevers. Why are you tempting yourself? Go into another room or the farthest corner away from serving table.

11. Keep your back to the buffet. For most people, food that is out of sight is out of mind.

12. Don’t eat off of someone else’s plate, finish your kids’ food, sample your spouse’s pie, or take a taste of this and a taste of that as you walk around the party. One bite here and one bite there doesn’t seem like much, but add them up and you’ll be shocked. Mindless bites average about 25 calories apiece. Four mindless bites a day means around a hundred (extra) calories. Do this daily and by the end of a month you might have gained close to a pound. Because it’s so easy to overlook those hand to mouth sneaky bites, make a deal with yourself that you’ll only eat food that’s on a plate.

13. Have a conversation. It’s hard to shove food in your mouth when you’re talking. Hold a glass in your hand, even if it has water or seltzer in it, and a napkin in the other hand. It’s hard to nibble and nosh when your hands are full.

14. Get rid of leftovers. Leftover stuffing has defeated the best-laid plans and don’t nibble during clean up (or preparation for that matter). Broken cookies, pieces of pie crust, and the last bits of stuffing haven’t magically lost their calories.

15. Don’t multi-task. Try to avoid combining eating with other activities. Distractions are a major contributor to overeating. When you’re with family and friends the last thing on your mind is going to be how many nachos you just inhaled while some annoying in-law was yakking your ear off. TV is another major culprit. When you sit down to catch a game, parade, or a holiday special, be sure that there isn’t a big bowl of munchies sitting right next to you waiting to sabotage your waistline.

What If You Ate Everything In Sight?

If you ate everything is sight and your exercise was walking back and forth to the to the buffet table, take heart, It was just one day. It’s not so difficult to make up for your indulgences over the next few days.

The danger is letting it stretch into days or weeks. That’s when your waistline starts expanding and the pound you gained this year stays there and gets joined by another the following year.

Enjoy the holidays and the traditions that are important to you. Be thankful and joyous. Isn’t that the point?

The post 15 Easy-On-The-Waistline Holiday Eating Tips appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

On Christmas Eve Santa visits an estimated 92 million households. Walking.about.com figures that if all the households were evenly distributed across the earth, Santa would travel 0.78 miles between houses — for a total of 71,760,000 (71.8 million) miles.

How Much Does Santa Weigh?

According to NORAD, Santa tips the scale at 260 pounds and he’s 5’7” tall, giving him a BMI of 40.7 — which, unfortunately, makes him obese.

Walking.about.com, guessing Santa’s weight to be 250 pounds and assuming he’s a pretty fast walker — he does have to get his deliveries done in one night — estimates that Santa burns 13 billion calories on Christmas eve.

Does Santa Need All The Milk and Cookies Left Out For Him?

Two small cookies and a cup of skim milk (no full fat dairy for Santa, he might have cholesterol issues) clock in at about 200 calories. If Santa snacked at each of the 92 million households he visits he would chow down on 18.4 billion calories.

That would mean he would gain 1,529,350 pounds every Christmas.

If he walked instead of rode in his sleigh – Rudolph is probably well-trained enough to navigate the sleigh full of presents — he’d have to circle the earth 1,183 times to burn off the extra calories from the milk and cookies.

What If Santa Snacked On Veggies Instead Of Cookies?

If Santa had a cup of carrot and celery sticks rather than cookies and milk at each house, he’d be eating just 50 calories — which would add up to 4.6 billion calories for the evening. Since he burns off 13 billion calories by walking, he’d actually lose so much weight that he’d disappear from sight.

Maybe the best idea for him would be to have a nice combination of veggies at most households and cookies and low fat milk every thousand or so households. That probably would keep him happy, energetic, and in caloric balance!

But … Santa has been delivering presents and eating cookies for a very long time. He magically reappears every year as jolly as ever. He seems to be doing quite nicely with his usual routine, don’t you think?

Ho Ho Ho!

The post Should Santa Cut Down On The Cookies? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

The post Holiday Wishes appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

It seems that Santa has some weight challenges – no small wonder with all of the cookies and milk left out for him on Christmas Eve! Plus, he uses a sleigh pulled by reindeer so he just slides down the chimney which might be tough with that belly and big bag of presents, but it doesn’t use up a whole lot of calories.

On Christmas Eve, Santa visits an estimated 92 million households. Walking.about.com figures that if all households were evenly distributed across the earth, Santa would travel 0.78 miles between houses — for a total of 71,760,000 (71.8 million) miles.

Guessing Santa’s weight at 250 pounds and that he moves pretty quickly – he does have to get his deliveries done in one night – it’s estimated that he would burn 13 billion calories.

If Santa climbed stairs delivering his presents — Big12Hoops calculates that he would climb the equivalent of 9.5 billion stairs – he would burn 0.11 calories for each stair, or 1.045 billion calories. That’s far fewer than 13 billion calories – but it’s still a whole lot of energy expenditure that would leave him mighty thin – maybe too thin to be seen – by Christmas morning.

But what about all the milk and cookies left for him in front of fireplaces and Christmas trees?

 Can Santa Burn Off All The Milk And Cookies?

Two small cookies and a cup of skim milk (no full fat dairy for Santa, he might have cholesterol issues) clock in at about 200 calories. If Santa snacked at each of the 92 million households, he would chow down on 18.4 billion calories.

That would mean he would gain 1,529,350 pounds every Christmas. If he walked instead of rode in his sleigh –Rudolph is probably well-trained enough to take the lead without Santa’s hands on the reins — he’d have to circle the earth 1,183 times to burn off the extra calories.

What If Santa Snacked On Veggies Instead Of Cookies?

If Santa had a cup of carrot and celery sticks rather than cookies and milk he’d have just 50 calories at each house — which adds up to 4.6 billion calories. Since he would burn off 13 billion calories by walking, he’d actually lose all of his weight and disappear.

Maybe the best idea for him would be a nice combination of veggies at most households and cookies and low fat milk every thousand or so households to keep him in caloric balance!

The post Do All Those Cookies Create a Problem for Santa? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Poor Rudolph  —  he’s had to put up with all of those clown nose jokes over the years.

But wait — it turns out that scientists have determined that reindeer have more abundant blood vessels in their noses than humans. The British Medical Journal reports that a team of scientists and researchers used a hand-held video microscope to observe the nasal capillaries of reindeer as they ran on a treadmill. No joke!

The capillaries in reindeer noses are 25% thicker than those in human noses.  Those capillaries are critical for heating and cooling, delivering oxygen, and humidifying inhaled air so the hardworking reindeer noses don’t freeze. (The research does have potential human application).

The mystery of Rudolph’s red nose is a mystery no longer.  The explanation:  reindeer have a large number of red blood cells that flow through small nasal vessels – which makes reindeer noses glow.

Merry Christmas!

The post Rudolph Really Does Have A Red Glowing Nose! appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

In 1881 political cartoonist Thomas Nast used Moore’s poem to create our modern image of Santa Claus  showing Santa as a rotund, cheerful man with a full, white beard, holding a sack filled with children’s toys. Nast gave Santa his bright red suit trimmed with white fur, the North Pole workshop, elves, and Mrs. Claus.

How Many Calories Does Santa Burn On His Christmas Rounds?

Even Santa has weight challenges – and most certainly he has a lot of carb and calorie temptation with all of the cookies and milk left out for him! He uses a sleigh pulled by reindeer that lands him on the roof – so he doesn’t get much exercise just sliding down the chimney (tough with that belly and bag of presents. Should Santa change to walking for transport and eat healthier throughout Christmas Eve?

On Christmas Eve, Santa visits an estimated 92 million households. Walking.about.com figures that if all households were evenly distributed across the earth, Santa would travel 0.78 miles between houses, or 71,760,000 (71.8 million) miles.

Guessing Santa’s weight at 250 pounds and that he’s a walking pretty fast walker – he has to be to get his deliveries done in one night – walking.about.com’s calorie counter estimates that he would burn 13 billion calories.

Would He Burn Off All That Milk And Cookies?

Two small cookies and a cup of skim milk (giving households the benefit of doubt about full fat dairy) clock in at about 200 calories. If Santa snacks at each of the 92 million households, that works out to a payday of 18.4 billion calories.

So, Santa would gain 1,529,350 pounds every Christmas Eve — even if he walked instead of rode in his sleigh. Walking, he’d have to circle the Earth 1,183 times to burn off the extras.

What If He Snacked On Veggies Instead Of Cookies?

Maybe Santa is a modern weight conscious man.  If he had a cup of carrot and celery sticks at each house rather than cookies and milk,  he would have just 50 calories at each house which would add up to 4.6 billion calories. Since he would burn off 13 billion calories by walking, he’d actually lose all of his weight and disappear.  Maybe the best idea for him would be a nice combination of veggies at most households and cookies or skim milk every few households to keep him in caloric balance.

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The post If Santa Walked Instead of Riding In His Sleigh — How Many Calories Would He Burn? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

As the big week of celebrations approaches, here are some quick tips to keep your pet family members safe and healthy during the winter holidays.

• If the weather turns nasty and you need to use salt and de-icing materials, remember that they can get into your pet’s paws and onto their stomachs as they climb over snow mounds.  Wipe their paws and tummies with a damp rag.  Antifreeze tastes sweet to dogs and cats so  mop up any spills and bottle drips.
• We find tree ornaments fun to look at and pets absolutely adore them, but metal, glass, ribbons, styrofoam and tinsel can cause serious medical emergencies for your pet.  So can artificial snow and the snow in snow globes.  Ditto for holiday wrappings that get thrown around and fall everywhere.   These can be a hazard for little kids, too.
• We may want our homes to look festive, but ivy, holly, mistletoe, lilies, poinsettia, and some Christmas greens can be toxic to pets if they nibble on them.  Christmas tree water with tree preservative can be attractive to thirsty pets — and harmful, too.
• The holidays are a time to welcome visitors into your home.  Too much activity and too many people can frighten your pets — and sometimes cause them to run away.  Consider putting them in a room away from the roaring crowd and make certain they are wearing  collars with current tags.
• Oh how we love to feast on our holiday treats!  So do our pets. My Golden Retriever, Rufus, was carbo-dog and adored desserts.  Spike, my pug, given his druthers, would eat anything, anytime, anywhere.  Some foods can be harmful and cause GI or choking problems.  Chocolate that is so prevalent in holiday treats can be quite harmful to our pets.  We truly love out animals, but giving them table scraps is not a good way to show it.  And — if you don’t want the leftovers, send them home with visitors or toss them– don’t feed them to the dog — not all of them are healthy for animals.

Have a wonderful, safe, happy, and healthy holiday.

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