2007 Article
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 Healthy HolidaysBy Judith S. Harris, BSN, MA, CHES They are upon occasion called the “festive five”, “candy handles”, and fruit cake cushions; but those five extra holiday pounds that may not budge from year to year, can sabotage a healthy holiday agenda. A holiday weight gain study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD) found that two factors influence weight management over the holidays: level of hunger and level of activity.1 Study volunteers who reported less hunger and more physical activity had less holiday weight gain, and those that reported more hunger and less activity gained more weight. The study concluded that holiday weight gain is risky because the additional weight is not lost during the course of the year, and may even increase more during the next holiday season resulting in a significant cumulative weight gain over time. Making healthy food choices, continuing daily physical activities, and managing holiday stress triggers are critical to maintaining equilibrium. There are some simple, small, fun steps that you can use and share with family and friends to lend a fresh, festive approach to well being during the holidays. Make moderation your eating mantra. The National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute has developed a portion distortion web page that shows proper portion sizes. Test your knowledge at http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/portion/. Remember to rate your plate at all times – a sliver, not a slab will keep holiday weight gain in check. Stick to your physical activity plan. Keep your date with physical activity. Maintain at least fifteen minutes of your usual exercise routine. If necessary, cut sessions shorter, choose an alternative to fill the gap, but keep moving. Watch for signs of stress in yourself and Family members. Although stress may be amplified during the holidays, it can stem from difficult situations that have occurred throughout the year. Mobilization and deployment can create a unique set of challenges, but help is available to all Guard Families 24/7 at the information-packed National Guard Bureau Family Program Group web site, http://www.guardfamily.org/. Stress management requires maintaining a calm, cool perspective. In other words, don’t sweat the small stuff. Here are four simple recommended stress management techniques recommended by the American Heart/American Stroke Associations²:
View this article as it appeared in GX Magazine
About the author: Judith S. Harris, BSN, MA, CHES
¹ National Institutes of Health News Alert, Holiday Weight Gain Slight, but May Last a Lifetime. March 2000. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/new/releases/holidayweightgain.cfm. ² American Heart Association web site, www.heart.org, “Four Ways to Deal with Stress”, http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3047876. For more information, visit: www.DecadeofHealth.com |