‘Tis the season to be jolly–and gain weight. In fact, the majority of Americans pack on from six to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Losing this weight can be easier said than done. Additionally, compared to 2020, there may be significantly more social and family celebrations on your calendar– holiday buffets, dinners with friends, drinks with colleagues, late-night parties–and too little sleep.
Fear not—your Prime Surgicare team of weight loss experts has assembled our five top tips to help keep your weight under control from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day:
You’ve worked so hard in 2021—why take two steps back now?
1. Give yourself the gift of time to workout
With holiday shopping, cooking, wrapping and perhaps hosting for the first time in a few years, we often have less time for self-care. Don’t allow your precious workout time to be crossed off the list. Rise earlier in the day, if needed, or grab a friend or family member for an evening trip to the gym.
Break your exercise session into smaller, more manageable time periods, if necessary.
Example: Take two 15-minute walks instead of one 30-minute walk.
Increase your activity in the things you do each day (take stairs instead of elevators, park further away when running errands). These small efforts add up at the end of the day to a bigger calorie burn!
2. Customize recipes to a healthier version
Make high-calorie foods lower in calories by swapping out higher-calorie ingredients with lower-calorie substitutions without sacrificing flavor. Use less oil, butter, margarine in recipes. Use leaner forms of protein and less sugar. A quick internet search will offer specific ingredient substitution options. Indulge once during the actual holiday
Enjoy yourself on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, or one special night of Chanukah. Overeating one day will not cause weight regain, but overeating for several days in a row can.
During telehealth or in-person visits with our weight loss patients, we emphasize that enjoying some foods or drinks outside your regular plan will not make you gain your weight back; rather, the trouble begins when you overindulge for too many days before and after the holiday.
3. Free your body, mind and fridge of turkey stuffing and cookie leftovers
Send goody bags of leftovers home with guests to enjoy during tomorrow’s football games, or freeze leftovers for the next holiday. After New Year’s, give away any remaining items that do not support your bariatric plan.
4. Watch wasted calories on alcohol
What’s the quickest way to consume too many calories? Drink them.
Holiday celebrating traditionally includes wine, beer and mixed drinks, an easy way to boost your calorie intake without eating a single thing. Is it worth it? Only you can decide. Regardless, be sure to build in your alcohol calories into your daily count.
If you do choose to have a drink, keep it in moderation. If you’ve had weight loss surgery, be forewarned that you can become intoxicated very quickly.
5. Bring the healthy dish to the party
Many clients worry ‘there will be nothing for them to eat at the party…’ Any easy cure is to bring your own bariatric-friendly dish to share with everyone! More often than not, other people are also searching for healthy alternatives on the buffet. Thus, you are helping yourself and other guests! A quick internet search for ‘bariatric-friendly party snacks’ will yield a plethora of options to meet your health-conscious needs.
What food is—and what it is not
Challenge yourself this year—don’t focus on the food—instead, pay attention to people at the party, freshen up your social skills and chat with someone you don’t know. We’ve all been isolated for quite a while, so be patient with others who may be a bit shy. Listen to the music and copy songs you enjoy to your playlist. Network around to find the owner of the car parked outside that you are considering purchasing.
Recall and repeat one of Dr. Seun Sowemimo’s most important mantras about weight loss—
‘Life is not intended to be just about the food.’
A parting message—
The job of food is to keep us alive, learning, loving and thriving. Eating doesn’t solve our problems, ease our pain or fill our bank accounts.
Is 2022 the year you take control of your weight?
If you are tired of the weight loss/regain cycle, contact our team of surgical weight loss pros to schedule an appointment to speak with one of our board-certified bariatric surgeons about the possibility of gastric sleeve, the most common bariatric surgery in the world, or gastric bypass surgery. Or, from the comfort of your device, sign-up for our next New Patient Webinar, which introduces the weight loss surgery journey and explains the process.
Register today for our next online webinar here: https://primesurgicare.com/seminars-and-webinars/
Dr. Seun Sowemimo and the Prime Surgicare Team