NATURAL NUTRITION – What To Do With Those Unwanted Holiday ‘Guests’…
Note: All of our readers are not competitive athletes, expert trainers, or experienced fitness enthusiasts. The fact is, a great percentage are newbies to the wonderful world of fitness. With this in mind, we’re going to be presenting more mainstream, baseline information mixed in with the advanced stuff. But even for those who are ‘old’ pros – in terms of experience, not age of course – refresher courses are a good thing. It’s fitting then, that we start of the 2007 Natural Nutrition Column with a look at a nationwide problem in America – an epidemic of unwanted holiday guests.
Most people in America have a number of ‘guests’ that start arriving at the beginning of the Holiday season and just won’t seem to go away. I’m not talking about a brother-in-law and his wife and six kids, but about those five, six, seven or even more pounds that come to visit somewhere between Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s Day!
According to estimates from several health resource groups, the average American gains from one to five pounds over the extended Holiday Season. While this number might not seem alarming to some people, it should be realized that in most cases those ‘unwanted guests’ are here to stay. And they’re likely to bring along some friends!
The good news is, if you are one of those ‘average’ Americans, a few simple steps can have your ‘house’ back in order – and even in better shape than before. Weight control is a complex subject, but most people want answers to be as short and simple as possible, so in shorthand here’s what to do (we’ll fill in the information blanks in future columns):
1 - Don’t diet! The New Year will undoubtedly bring a New Diet, and just like the ones that have gone before, it won’t work – at least not for long. By diets, I’m referring to a pattern of eating that severely or unnecessary restricts either a specific nutrient – i.e. fat or carbohydrates, or overall calories, or both. Among other negatives, highly restrictive caloric diets and/or diets low in protein slow down your metabolism – the death knell for fat loss.
2 - Do nourish the body! In terms of clinical nutrition, almost all people who are overweight are undernourished! They may be overfed, but they are lacking in one or more specific nutrients. Feed your body several times a day, with the proper balance of all the nutrients, you’ll help stabilize your blood sugar levels, boost your energy levels, cut down on the ‘munchies’ and rev up your metabolism – as well as optimizing your over- all health!
3 - Realize that a lot of the holiday weight gained is fluid. All those holiday desserts are laced with sugar – which can create up to four times its weight in fluid in the body. While all carbohydrates create fluid within the body (the amount varies from 2 to 4 grams of fluid for every gram of carbohydrate ingested, depending on variables such as hormone levels, metabolic rate, and carbohydrate ‘tolerance’), simple sugars tend to create more fluid – as well as cause insulin ‘spikes’ which lead to quicker fat storage.
To combat the increased fluid, drink at least 64 ounces of water every day. Cutting back on water intake will only make the fluid retention problem worse.
4 - Move the body. Exercise is the real key to moving your metabolism. If you haven’t been exercising regularly (and some of our newer readers may not yet be attuned to the many and varied benefits of exercise), start slowly and gradually increase your efforts. Aerobic exercise such as walking, bicycling, and jogging have long been recommended for weight loss but recent research – and decades of observation – highlights the importance of resistance exercise (weight training or strength training) in weight control.
Finally, if you follow the above steps, don’t buy any new clothes for a little while. You might just have to get a smaller spring wardrobe!
