How To Handle Holiday Eating

Posted: November 17th, 2010 | Author: Dr. Bill Stillwell | No Comments »

Years ago, I used to gain about 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and
New Year’s Day. I had all manner of excuses for this, the top one
being the number of social events I had to attend, both personally
and professionally. There was always plenty of food and drink and
more where that came from.

When companies started cutting back on all the festivities, no one
was happier than I, but I still gained the weight, even though I had
many fewer parties to attend. I just ate more at the ones I did go
to. And believe me, when somebody put out a great spread, I felt
obligated to put a good dent in at least part of it.

When I decided to lose weight a couple of dozen moons back, I knew
the Holidays would be a problem.

But I solved it and actually continued to lose weight, during the
holidays.

Here’s how I look at it now.

There are really just three big days, maybe four or five, if you
want to push it. There’s Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve,
and possibly Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. I consider all the
rest a festive time, but no different, in terms of diet.

To gain weight, you have to eat more calories than normal, over a
sustained period of time. Weight gain doesn’t happen in just a
couple of days. In my old life, I started overeating around
Thanksgiving and sustained it through the New Year. That’s a good
six weeks and if you’re eating extra cookies, sweets, and so on
during that period, you’re going to add some lard. Add a little
smidge of malted beverages and it gets even easier.

So, I give myself two days to indulge myself and eat whatever I
want. Those days are Thanksgiving and Christmas. For those two days,
I eat whatever I please, because I can’t celebrate with any kind of
restrictions.

But I don’t keep the celebration going. I get the extra calorie
laden food out of the house. I give it away, or I take it where it
can be used to feed anyone that’s hungry. I know a number of people
who do this and I think it’s a great idea. Many of those cook
extras, specifically to give the food away. But the key is to rid
the house of stuff you know you’ll eat…if it’s there. As one
weight loss guru says, “The easiest way not to eat cookies is not to
buy them and bring them home.” I agree. Out of site, out of mind.

Plan your holiday eating and you’ll get it about 85% right, which is
damn good for the Holidays. But don’t pass up the good stuff on your
free days. When the pumpkin pie is passed your way, have a slice,
because in the larger scheme of things, it won’t make a difference.

Another thing that helps your metabolism is to take an extra dose of
my Powerhouse Omega Formula on celebration days. Where I normally
take two in the AM and two in the PM, I take three and three. There
are no scientific studies on this, but it works for me:

https://www.favoriteformulas.com?awt_l=GnZNU&awt_m=1ciUrIVFHIz2rW

I’ll be back tomorrow with more.

With my best wishes for your optimum health,

Dr. Bill

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