Holiday Survival Guide: 5 tips to stay healthy and slim between feasts
It’s that time of the year again and while the cooler weather and your Auntie Flora’s fried turkey might be enticing you to overindulge, it’s best to be cautious when participating in holiday feasts, where the pain and regret of the consequences often outweigh the short-term pleasures and splurges.
Sure, the holidays are meant to be enjoyed with our families, but the average American gains 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, according to Medical News Today. Taking this into account, we’ve made a list of tips that can help you get through this season without adding on the extra weight.
1. First and foremost: be realistic – Don’t try to lose weight during the holidays. Friends and family will most likely invite you to events and they will most likely try to stuff you to the brim. Instead try to maintain your current weight.
2. Eat what you like (and yes that includes some fat) – Eating moderate amounts of fat during the holidays will satisfy your appetite and prevent you from overeating other heavy foods such as potatoes or breads. That said, practice moderation and don’t deprive yourself of your favorite foods. Enjoy them fully and then back away from the table.
3. Don’t stop exercising – Many people tend to lay off exercise routines during the holidays and this is a mistake. Not only are you consuming more calories than normal, but you’re body is using less energy and storing all that excess food as fat: a recipe for disaster. A moderate and daily exercise routine can help offset increased holiday eating. Keep up that running!
4. Wait before grabbing seconds – The stomach needs 20 minutes or more to realize it is full. Often, we eat until the point of fullness, only to have the actual feeling of fullness kick in a little later. Give your body time to fill up before choosing to indulge on seconds.
5. Focus on family, friends and conversation, not on food – Probably the biggest point to take home on holiday feasts: it’s about the company, not the turkey gravy. Share, love, talk and take notice of all the food you consume while standing near the snack table. That carrot dip can be dangerous. Whether you’re sitting at the table or not, every item you eat will add up in your stomach so try having conversations away from snack items and, yes, focus on the people around you – they probably care about you should give them your full attention this holiday season.
To learn more about weight management and medical weight loss, call the Southern California Center For Anti Aging today!
Like Girls, American Boys Reaching Puberty Earlie
Research has shown young girls in the United States have been reaching puberty earlier than they used to and now the same appears to be true for boys. According to a study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), boys are entering puberty between six months and two years earlier than boys in past generations.
The study, published in Pediatrics, included data from more than 4,000 boys between the ages of 6 and 16. The boys were of different races and came from 41 states where statistics were collected from just under 150 pediatric offices.
Doctors observed patterns in genital development, testicle formation and pubic hair growth, finding African American boys were more likely to reach puberty early (at 9.14 years) when compared to white boys (10.14 years) or Hispanic boys (10.4 years).
The study does not point out any single cause for the early onset of puberty, but researchers mention it could be a combination of modern diet, lack of physical exercise, and a variety of environmental factors including pollution, contaminates in water, and the ingestion of plastic – which has been found to mimic hormones like estrogen in the human body.
Researchers said the public health implications of premature puberty in boys remain unclear and called for more research on the matter in a variety of medical fields.
