Holiday Weight-Gain:The Good & Bad News About Losing It

holiday weight gain sierra skye blue bikini for BoutineLA

Photo: Sierra Skye, by BoutineLA

Holiday Weight Gain Helps You Remember The Good Times:

So one of the great things about the beginning of a new year is the renewal and a fresh look at yourself.

The other great news is that you’re fatter than last year thanks to all the awesome holiday parties you went to.

Jumping into a new gym as a result can be an interesting experience!

But as the stats suggest, average people don’t make all the progress they want.

And strangely-enough, that might not be a problem…

We All Get Fatter:
So in a set of studies from a few years ago and 10 before that,

It’s been confirmed more than once that people from the US and Europe do gain weight over the end of year holidays,

And then again around Easter.

That stat has been traditionally believed to be somewhere near 7-10 lbs.

Well for the moment, we have good news!

Surprise! Holiday Weight Gain Is Not As Bad As You Think!:

So according to both of the studies, the real holiday weight gain is…

10% of that!

–Roughly 1 pound!

Moreover, people who were normally thinner tended to have a lower chance of gaining the weight at all.

For example, the thinnest people had 1/2 the risk of Overweight people,

And 1/3 the risk of Obese people.

And Now The Bad News, Bikini Season:
Even for the average person, weight loss is not easy.

And the funny thing-is, they don’t call it swimsuit or bikini-season for nothing.

Because when populations in Europe, the US, & Japan were surveyed,

It took them about 6 Months to lose all the holiday weight!

So their abs looked better right around the time the sun really comes out in-force.

Who knows why it takes that long for such a small loss, but there it is.

Though it probably comes down to exercise paired with less-than-ideal nutrition changes.

Diets Don’t Work, So Just Change Your Habits Permanently!:
And that’s the problem.

As we’ve said many times before, you cannot out-exercise bad nutrition,

And nutrition is actually king when it comes to weight-loss.

So at first it will be harder to change, but once you build habits, it becomes easier.

Instead of trying some crazy fad or 1-time effort to get the pounds off,

Why not just have good habits the whole year?

One Simple Weight-Loss Tip Is…:
Get as much sugar & simple-carbohydrate calories out of your diet as possible.

Things like Bread, Rice, Potatoes, Pasta, Corn, any Sweets, or Sweetened Drinks.

Or at least get the smallest amount of the lowest-carb version of each.

For example: Eat 70-calorie/slice Vermont Bread with 5 ingredients instead of 120-calorie/slice Arnold Bread that has 18.

Or try to eat only 1/2 the bread you get on the sandwich from a shop.

Panera & Subway are huge-offenders here, with bread-calories in-excess of 300 per sandwich some times.

And One More Thing:
Just for reference, a whole list of ways to avoid overeating at parties, including Easter, when Americans & Europeans drift up in weight a ~little bit more,

is over here: Santa Belly: 8+ Ways To Reduce Or Avoid Holiday Weight Gain From Partying Like It’s 1899,

And although your New You is likely to be more austere anyway, these guidelines can help anyone avoid excessive weight gain from any holiday on the calendar.

So rejoice in the New Year, it’s not as bad as you thought, but getting rid of that holiday weight gain is still just as hard as you thought.

JUMP BONUS! Cornell Food & Brand Lab’s Holiday Weight Gain & Loss Chart: