Holiday Health-Rueben Palacios
The following is an article written by Ruben Palacios for the December isssue of the San Dimas/La Verne community newsletter. He is a columnist and we will be posting his January and February articles soon.
A martini and a handful of Chex mix at the office party, Grandma’s fruitcake, the plate of gingerbread cookies from your neighbor. Eating all those goodies will definitely cost you a pound or two this holiday season. To burn off the calories in one gingerbread cookie, you will have to swim 18 minutes. The martini and party mix will take 47 minutes on the bike. And the fruitcake? Take an 84-minute walk. Most of us have no idea what a calorie is worth. The following exercise calculations are for a 155-pound person; add time if you’re lighter, subtract time if you’re heavier.Some of the numbers are downright depressing. A Starbucks Caramel Macchiato is 38 minutes on the bike — add 81 minutes if you grab a piece of coffee cake. It will take 72 minutes to walk off a half-cup of Ben and Jerry’s Butter Pecan, ouch! The holidays are one of the trickiest seasons for dieters. People tend to gain 5 to 10 lbs during the holidays and they don’t typically lose it by spring. Most Americans underestimate how much they’re actually eating by as much as 40 percent. Holiday foods are loaded with fat and calories so do your self a favor and start a customized workout plan that includes both cardio and resistance training a minimum of 3 times a week. The health benefits of resistance training include increased strength and muscular coordination, more muscle mass and higher bone density in men and women of all ages. An increase in muscle mass contributes to a higher basal metabolic rate, which can help in weight control. Check out these 5 simple ways slow down fat consumption from holiday foods:
- Begin your day with a breakfast that includes protein. Protein takes longer to digest and helps you to feel full for much longer.
- Never arrive to a party on an empty stomach. Eat a small salad or other low-fat snack before leaving. This will help you from overeating at the buffet table once you are at the party.
- Sugar cravings is on the rise around this time making you consume more sugary carbohydrates, which makes you crave more sugar. To avoid this vicious carbohydrate craving cycle, eat foods that are low on the glycemic index. By consuming only complex carbohydrates, the cravings will disappear and satiety levels will rise.
- The extra demands at this time of year can be very taxing and those time crunches make it easy to grab for the wrong foods. Keeping a well-stocked pantry with favorite protein bars, and whey protein provide sound nutritional choices when time is short.
- Above all try to maintain a nutrition journal where you write everything down. Most of you will be surprised at how quickly those little tastes and bites add up to an extra 500-1000 calories per day. Three holiday cookies each day for a week equal 1.5 extra pounds. Think about how hard you’ll need to work in January to get those extra pounds off. Is the cookie really worth the effort?
The holidays are not an ideal time to try to start a diet. Rather, your goal should be to maintain your weight during this time frame. If you should decide to indulge in a piece of chocolate fudge or some other decadent dessert, don’t berate yourself. Simply cut back on calories elsewhere during the rest of the day or add a few extra sets of resistance training to your workout routine. For a free complementary consultation with Ruben Palacios, call Fitness Results at (909) 305-0188.