Tips to Avoid Gaining
a Single Pound
This Holiday Season!

By Michael D. Ozner, M.D

NIH researchers found that the one or two holiday pounds we typically gain each year aren't like other pounds – they don't go away. Cumulatively, holiday weight gain can add up to health problems and obesity in just a few years.

Maintaining your weight through the holidays should not be a struggle. As a cardiologist, I have been helping heart patients do just that for over 25 years.

Here are some time-tested tips:
Eat foods that lead to satiety. Foods that are rich in omega-3 and other good fats make you feel full because they take longer for the body to digest, and don't cause a spike in blood sugar that leads to the feast-famine cycle. Examples are almonds and walnuts. Foods that are full of fiber make you feel full for a different reason. They actually expand inside your body, signaling the brain that you've had enough. Examples are fresh fruits and vegetables, and beans and legumes. Protein is another food that makes you full. The best forms of protein for health are turkey, chicken, and seafood.

Don't abandon your routine. One of the main reasons people gain weight at holiday time is that they eat, drink, and act differently than they normally do. Do you usually eat handfuls of candy, have drink after drink, park yourself by a bowl of chips, and indulge in between-meal baked goods? What happened to your exercise routine? The best advice for holidays is to carry your normal, healthy lifestyle habits through the holidays.

Avoid non-nutritional calories. These are foods that we eat or snack on that are not only unhealthy, but also quickly pack on pounds. Examples are foods containing trans fats – any food that has hydrogenated oil in the ingredients, such as Jiffy-style peanut butter, commercial breads, cereals, french fries, potato chips, stick margarine, doughnuts, cream-filled cookies, pound cake, and candy bars. Another offender is foods and beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup. Not much attention has been paid to this ubiquitous ingredient, but more will, as people discover how these foods and drinks contribute to quick weight gain.

Stick to whole foods and non-processed foods.
There's plenty of good food to eat at holiday time, even if you're dining at someone else's house. Turkey is a good food, as are cranberries and pumpkin pie made without refined sugar. When you're at a party, go for the fresh vegetables and shrimp cocktail, and avoid the chips and fatty dips.

Don't forget to exercise.
Thirty minutes of brisk walking – especially outdoors in the fresh air where you can breathe deeply and swing your arms – is a sure-fire way to avoid weight gain during the holidays. After a big meal, try to enlist a relative or friend to take a walk. If you overindulged just a bit the night before, increase your exercise to 45 minutes or an hour. As long as you keep your body moving each day, you will reduce stress and increase your metabolism. Plopping on the couch with a six-pack after a big meal is NOT a good way to avoid weight gain.

Practice stress reduction.
The link between stress and weight gain has been well documented. People tend to experience increased levels of stress during holiday time. One way to reduce stress is to avoid foods that exacerbate it, such as caffeine and too much alcohol. Use the time off from work to take an extra nap or two. Enjoy the company of people you love, and who love you. Take time at meals to really enjoy the celebration and company. Practice yoga, prayer, meditation, or deep breathing. And of course, exercise is one of the best stress reducers around.

Adopt a Mediterranean style of eating.
The Mediterranean diet is the only diet that has undergone long-term clinical studies proving its effectiveness for both health and weight maintenance. I prescribe it to my heart patients because it is delicious, easy to stick with, and leads to both satiety and weight loss – a winning combination. A Mediterranean diet consists primarily of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, plenty of cold-water fish (such as salmon, mackerel, trout, and herring), nuts, and legumes (beans, peas, and lentils). Red wine is consumed with meals (one or two 5-ounce glasses per day). Low-fat dairy and poultry are consumed in moderation, and red meat is eaten infrequently.

If you tend to over-eat at the big holiday meal, have a small handful of almonds and a glass of water a half hour before mealtime. You will be too full to overindulge. Ground cinnamon lowers cholesterol and blood sugar. One delicious holiday treat using cinnamon is homemade hot chocolate made with unsweetened pure cocoa, skim milk, honey, and a pinch of cinnamon. It's full of antioxidants and will make you not want dessert. Pomegranate juice is another rich source of antioxidants. You can drink it, or reduce it by a two-thirds and use it to drizzle over turkey or chicken. Whey protein is a great source of protein that you can puree with fresh berries and ice to make a delicious breakfast or dessert substitute. Frozen fruit, blended to sorbet consistency, is also 100 percent good for you.

Michael D. Ozner, M.D., is a board-certified cardiologist, a national speaker on preventive cardiology, and former Chairman of the American Heart Association of Miami. Dr. Ozner is author of the books Prevent Your First Heart Attack and The Miami Mediterranean Diet.