WASHINGTON 鈥� The home stretch of the holiday season is here, but the sheer number of New Year鈥檚 parties coming up poses a challenge to people determined to not gain聽weight.
In the seventh聽installment of the Lean Plate Club Challenge, author and blogger Sally Squires says there are a few things you can do to keep yourself from gorging on fattening food 鈥� and drink 鈥� as you finish the party marathon.
First off, Squires says, have something to eat before you hit the party. You don鈥檛 want a full meal, because of course you鈥檙e going to eat something while you鈥檙e there.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to go there hungry, because you鈥檙e apt to overeat and make all the wrong choices,鈥� Squires says. Food will also help slow the absorption of alcohol, she adds.
You鈥檙e aiming for something in the 100- to 200-calorie range, she says: Half a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread will do, so would a snack bar, a piece of fruit, a banana with almond butter or an individual serving-size container of hummus with peppers or carrots will all do the trick.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l feel satisfied, and you won鈥檛 walk in wanting to look at what鈥檚 on the buffet 鈥� you鈥檒l want to talk to the people who are there,鈥� Squires says 鈥� the whole point of going to a party.
It鈥檚 not at all unusual to hit a few events a night, Squires acknowledges, and if you鈥檙e making the rounds, you鈥檒l want to turn the parties into what Squires calls 鈥渁 rolling meal鈥� 鈥� maybe appetizers only at the first party of the night; main dishes for the second, and dessert and coffee at the third.
In addition to watching what you eat, Squires has two more suggestions.
First, fit in some time for some cardio.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 have to be going to the gym again,鈥� Squires says. 鈥淚t could be just a brisk walk. Maybe you鈥檝e got to return some presents at the mall. Go fast and park far.鈥�
Give the dog an extra walk, Squires suggests. Even making sure to dance at the party you head to will help. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 fun!鈥�
Second, make sure your partying doesn鈥檛 get in the way of your sleep.
鈥淪leep plays a really big role in appetite,鈥� Squires says. Even losing an hour of sleep, 鈥測ou鈥檙e suddenly changing a lot of the hormones that are affecting how hungry you feel and how satiated you feel.鈥�
And as Squires has been saying all along, preventing weight gain聽over the holidays is critical, particularly if you鈥檙e already overweight. Healthy-weight people add a pound during聽the course of the holidays, but take it off by spring; overweight people (who now make聽up聽about two-thirds of the U.S. population) add two or more pounds over the holidays, and they don鈥檛 take it off. Over just a couple of years, the accumulated extra weight can become a serious health issue.
