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holidays

Why Is It So Easy To Gain Weight Over The Holidays?

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Doesn’t it feel like you gain at least seven pounds of weight, all of it blubber? A lot of us start indulging at Thanksgiving (some at Halloween) and don’t stop the free style calorie fest until those onerous New Year’s Resolutions.  Then, because we feel guilty about indulgences, we swear we won’t touch another cookie or piece of cake or candy until we lose massive amounts of weight.  And then comes Valentine’s Day.

Some Facts

A study of holiday related weight gain published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that the average weight gain between Thanksgiving and New Year is slightly less than a pound.

The problem is that most of us don’t lose that extra pound that attaches itself in unwanted places and accumulates year after year. And, although the average holiday gain is only one pound, people who are already overweight tend to gain a lot more – one study found five or more pounds during the holidays.

Something To Think About

You need to eat 3,500 extra calories to gain a pound. According to the Calorie Control Council, Americans may eat more than 4,500 calories and – oh my gosh — 229 grams of fat from a combination of snacks and a traditional “turkey with all the trimmings” holiday dinner. And, that doesn’t include breakfast or leftovers!

All together, that’s more than twice times the average daily calorie intake and almost three and a half times the fat since 45 percent of the calories in the typical holiday dinner can come from fat. A scary fact: the average person may eat the equivalent of three sticks of butter during a holiday meal.

The average holiday dinner alone carries a load of 3,000 calories with many of us nibbling and noshing our way through another 1,500 calories of chips, dips and drinks and the like before and after the big meal. According to the chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise (ACE), a person who weighs 160 pounds would have to run at a moderate pace for four hours, swim for five hours, or walk 30 miles to burn off a 3,000-calorie meal. That’s a whole lot of exercise!

Where Do Extra Holiday Calories Come From?

Most extra holiday calories don’t come from the “day of” holiday meal but from unrelenting nibbling during the holiday season. It’s way too easy to add on 500 extra calories a day — which translates into a pound in a week (7 x 500 = 3500 calories, or 1 pound).

Here are some common holiday indulgences that weigh in at around 500 calories:

  • 12 ounces of eggnog
  • 1 piece of pecan pie
  • 3 ounces of mixed nuts
  • 22.5 Hershey’s Kisses
  • Starbucks’ Venti Peppermint Mocha with whipped cream
  • 4 glasses (5oz.) of wine
  • 10 regular size candy canes
  • 2-3 large Christmas cookies
  • 2.5 potato latkes
  • 4 fun-sized Snickers and 20 pieces of candy corn

What To Ask Yourself Before A Holiday Indulgence

— or for that matter, before indulgences any time of the year:

  • Do I really, really want it or is it because it looks good, smells good, or just means Christmas (or Halloween, or thanksgiving, or Hanukkah, or Valentine’s Day?
  • Is it worth the calories?
  • Do I need all of it (or any of it) to be happy or satisfied?
  • How will I feel after I eat it – both physically and emotionally?
  • What is important to me: the food, how I feel while I’m eating it, how I feel after I eat it, what the scale might say to me tomorrow morning?

Once you’ve had the conversation with yourself eat whatever is yanking your chain and love it — or be pleased with yourself that you didn’t.  Either way, you’ve made a mindful decision.

 

For more holiday eating strategies check out my soon to be released ebook:  How Not To Get Fat Over The Holidays.  I’ll let you know when it’s available from Amazon, Sony Reader, Nook, and iBooks.

How About A Parade Before The Feast?

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On Thanksgiving morning, right before the feast of the day (and before football), there’s another long-standing tradition.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, originally the Macy’s Christmas parade which served as the kick-off for the shopping season, began in 1924 when animals from the Central Park Zoo were recruited by Macy’s employees to march on Thanksgiving Day.

The parade’s helium-filled balloons made their debut in 1927 and early on were released into the city’s skyline holding rewards for their finders.

The parade, first nationally televised in 1947, now has around 44 million viewers with 3 million people lining its 2.5-mile Manhattan route for a first hand glimpse.

Around noontime, Santa on his sleigh accompanied by his elves make their way into Herald Square after their trip along the parade route.  What a wonderful way to set the stage for a great meal with family and friends.

How Long Can Your Turkey Safely Stay On The Table — And In The Fridge?

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How Do Turkeys Cross The Road?

Where I live, I often have to stop my car and wait for the wild turkeys to cross the road.  I’m not kidding.  They start climbing over a stone wall from a wooded area one after another.  Gorgeous, they’re not.   And they don’t cross in a timely fashion, either.  They’re sort of in a line but sometimes one shows an independent streak and turns around to look for the others.  Quite a sight – and, quite annoying when I’m in a hurry having seen this parade many times before – although it makes me smile every time!

These are not the turkeys that most of us will find on our dining room tables – but certainly are distant relatives of those eaten by the early New England settlers.

Turkey Is A Very Good Source Of Lean Protein

Turkey is low in fat and high in protein. A 3 1/2-ounce serving is about the size and thickness of a new deck of cards. The fat and calorie content varies because white meat has less fat and fewer calories than dark meat and skin.

Meat Type (from a whole roasted turkey)

Calories

Total Fat

Protein

Breast with skin

194

8 grams

29 grams

Breast w/o skin

161

4 grams

30 grams

Wing w/skin

238

13 grams

27 grams

Leg w/skin

213

11 grams

28 grams

Dark meat w/skin

232

13 grams

27 grams

Dark meat w/o skin

192

8 grams

28 grams

Skin only

482

44 grams

19 grams

Once Your Turkey Is Cooked, Does It Matter How Long You Leave It Out?

Absolutely! According to the Centers for Disease Control the number of reported cases of food borne illness (food poisoning) increases during the holiday season. You shouldn’t leave food out for more than two hours. To save turkey leftovers, remove the stuffing from the cavity, cut the turkey off the bone, and refrigerate or freeze all leftovers.

The Basic Rules For Leftovers

According to the March 2010 edition of the Nutrition Action Healthletter (Center for Science in the Public Interest):

The mantra is:  2 Hours–2 Inches–4 Days

  • 2 Hours from oven to refrigerator: Refrigerate or freeze your leftovers within 2 hours of cooking. Throw them away if they are out longer than that.
  • 2 Inches thick to cool it quick: Store your food at a shallow depth–about 2 inches–to speed chilling.
  • 4 Days in the refrigerator–otherwise freeze it: Use your leftovers that are stored in the fridge within 4 days. The exceptions are stuffing and gravy  which should be used within 2 days. Reheat solid leftovers to 165 degrees F and liquid leftovers to a rolling boil. Toss what you don’t finish.

How Long Can I Keep Leftover Turkey In The Freezer?

Frozen leftover turkey, stuffing, and gravy should be used within one month. To successfully freeze leftovers package them properly using freezer wrap or freezer containers. Use heavy duty aluminum foil, freezer paper, or freezer bags for best results and don’t leave air space. Squeeze the excess air from freezer bags and fill rigid freezer containers to the top with dry food. Without proper packaging, circulating air in the freezer can create freezer burn – those white dried-out patches on the surface of food that make it tough and tasteless. Leave a one inch head space in containers with liquid and half inch in containers filled with semi-solids.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Worried About Thanksgiving Eating? Here’s Some Help

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A Time For Giving Thanks And A Celebration Of Abundance

Those of us who are lucky enough to go to or host a Thanksgiving dinner are often faced with a dilemma:  overabundance.  Our Thanksgiving meal has become associated with a true groaning table – a table loaded with turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes in multiple formats, cranberry sauce, gravy, green bean casserole, brussel sprouts, and traditional family specialties. For closers there’s apple pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream, cookies, and whatever other desserts Grandma, Aunt Sue, and Mom decide to make or bring.

A Feast and a Caloric Overload

How can you enjoy your traditional Thanksgiving dinner and not feel like a slug for days afterward? The ironic thing is that the usual main dish is really lean poultry (turkey), and the main vegetables and condiments are nutritional powerhouses (sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, and cranberries).  The traditional dessert is made from a vegetable (pumpkin pie) or nuts (pecan pie) so you wouldn’t think this would be so difficult.

The calories in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner are estimated to range from 2,000 to 4,500, depending on what you put on your plate. Most people of average size who get moderate activity should eat between 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day,  so Thanksgiving dinner is quite a hefty meal. So are the calories eaten the rest of the day — from the warm-up grazing food to the leftovers.  Not everyone gains weight over the holidays, but if you do, those pounds rarely come off.

Who Wants to Count Calories on a Holiday?

Most of us don’t want to count calories on a holiday. If you deprive yourself of the traditional foods you come to associate with holidays, more often than not you end up paying the piper. That’s when you find yourself standing in front of an open fridge rummaging for leftovers because you feel deprived from the stare down you had with your favorite foods earlier in the day.

Have Your Own Plan of Attack

Create an eating plan of attack before the celebration day. You know you’ll eat a bit more – or maybe a bit more than a bit more – than on a typical day. Mathematically allow for your holiday meal. Remember, calories in – calories out. Compensate by eating a little lighter the days before and after. Add in a long walk.  It takes 3500 calories to gain or lose a pound — so think about balancing out your calories during the weeks before and after the holiday.

Don’t starve yourself the day of the grand meal. If you try to save up calories for a splurge, you’ll probably be so hungry by the time dinner is ready you’ll end up shoving food into your mouth faster than you can say turkey.

The Key Is Balance, Not Deprivation

Inevitably, if you deprive or restrict yourself you eventually end up overeating. The mantra becomes – “it’s just one day.” The problem is the one day extends to leftovers the next day – then the weekend – then to Christmas parties – then to the New Year’s Eve party. It could even extend to Super Bowl Sunday!

Celebrations the day of are fine. Celebrating for weeks on end is not. Plus, you’ll end up hating yourself!

Try some of these:

  • Give yourself permission to not eat something just because it’s tradition.
  • Only eat it if you want it. Eat what you want not what you think you should.
  • Say no to the friend or relative who is pushing the extra piece of pie. You’re the one stepping on the scale or zipping up your jeans the next day – not them.
  • Make some rules for yourself and commit to them.
  • Make a deal (with yourself) that you can eat what you want during dinner. Put the food on your plate and enjoy every last morsel. I’m not even suggesting that you leave some on your plate. But – that’s it. No seconds and no double-decking the plate.
  • Limit the hors d’oeuvres. They really pack in calories. Make eating one or two your rule.
  • Trade hors d’oeuvres for a luscious piece of pie for dessert.
  • Alcohol adds calories (7 calories/gram). Alcohol with mixers other than club soda or diet soda adds 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, limit the amount – alternate with water.
  • Control your environment. Don’t hang around the buffet table or stand next to the platter of delicious whatevers. Why are you tempting yourself?
  • Talk to someone. It’s hard to shove food in your mouth when you’re talking.
  • Get rid of leftovers. The best laid plans have been defeated by leftover stuffing.
  • Don’t nibble during clean-up (or preparation for that matter). Broken cookies, pieces of piecrust, and the last spoonfuls of stuffing haven’t magically lost their calories.
If you ignored a lot of this, you ate everything is sight, and your exercise was walking back and forth to the to the buffet table, put on the tourniquet. It was just one day — just don’t let it stretch into days or weeks.  Remember to enjoy the holidays. Be grateful. That’s the point, isn’t it?

 

Should You Blame The Turkey For Thanksgiving “Food Coma”?

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The Bird And The Berry

Turkeys and cranberries, part and parcel of our modern Thanksgiving (and Christmas) menus, are both native to the Americas.

About 46 million turkeys landed on US dinner tables last Thanksgiving, around  736 million pounds of turkey meat.  US farmers produce 735 million pounds of cranberries, 1.9 billion pounds of sweet potatoes and 931 million pounds of pumpkins.

Thanksgiving “Food Coma”

Urban myth is to blame the bird for your Thanksgiving “food coma.” Wrong.  You may have post-meal fatigue, but the turkeys are getting a bad rap.  The amount of sleep-inducing tryptophan in most turkey meals isn’t responsible for your coma-like state – blame the number of calories, the booze, and your relaxed state instead.

What Was on the First Thanksgiving Menu?

American Indians, Europeans, and cultures around the world often feasted to celebrate the harvest and to thank the higher powers for sustenance and survival.

We know that the first Thanksgiving dinner in the Plimoth (Plymouth) Colony, in October 1621 in what is now Massachusetts, was attended by about 50 English colonists and 90 Wampanoag American Indian men.

The Wampanoag killed five deer, the colonists shot wild fowl, and maybe some geese, ducks, or turkey. Some form of Indian corn was served and probably supplemented with fish, lobster, clams, nuts, wheat flour, pumpkin, squash, carrots, and peas.  They were true seasonal eaters and it was harvest time.

Was The First Thanksgiving The True Thanksgiving?

Although the 1621 Plimoth Thanksgiving is thought of as the first Thanksgiving, it was really a harvest celebration. The first “real” Thanksgiving didn’t happen until two centuries later. (In the 17th century a day of Thanksgiving was actually a day of fasting.)

What is known about the three day Plimoth gathering comes from a letter written by Edward Winslow, a leader of the Plimoth Colony in 1621.  It had been lost for 200 years and was rediscovered in the 1800s.

In 1841 Alexander Young, a Boston publisher, printed Winslow’s description of the feast and called it the “First Thanksgiving,” which caught on.

In 1863 President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving Day a national holiday. The current date for the observance of Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday of November, was established in 1941 by President Franklin Roosevelt.