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A Season of Eating...the Healthy Way

NEWS RELEASE — November 5, 2007

ROCHESTER, NY—Many suggestions surface this time of year on how to deal with the holiday feasts that leave us feeling as overstuffed as a new teddy bear. Advice ranges from moderation, to filling up on high fiber foods like vegetables and drinking non-caloric beverages.

“While these are all great suggestions for the feasts that take place on holidays themselves, what do we do with the ‘season of eating’ that seems to extend longer and longer every year?” asks Cyndy Schroeder, RD, CDE, a nutritionist with Lifetime Health Medical Group. She notes that cookies, sweets and other delicious tempting treats, while non-existent in September, suddenly appear at work on a routine basis in November and December.  Luncheons, get-togethers and gift or cookie exchange parties are much more commonplace, and church, school and businesses all seem to celebrate the holidays with the availability of food. “While a one day feast is tough when we are watching our calories, a season may be close to impossible!”

Take heart, though, she assures that it can be done if you budget your food and exercise as carefully as you (should) budget your holiday expenses.

“To avoid these seemingly innocent extra calories, think of the calories you eat and the calories you burn through exercise as your budget. Most days we take in and expend (or burn) the same amount and our weight stays stable – our budget’s ‘in the black’,” she explains. “Our budget goes ‘into the red’ when we take in more than we burn and our body stores these extra calories as fat. The trick, then, is to maintain our intake and exercise balance even during the holiday season.”

To do so, she advises:

• If your plans include attending a food-laden event and you expect to have a cookie or two, budget your other calories that day – don’t have that snack when you get home from work; decrease your portions at supper; drink water instead of juice or soda during the day. Above all, stop and think about whether you really want those cookies at that time or if you’re just grabbing them because everyone else is.
• Train yourself to choose special foods during this time, not just the foods that are available. Chances are the same types of foods are available at other times of the year, when your balanced food and exercise budget isn’t in jeopardy.
• Cookie trays at work and special luncheons can be dealt with by bringing in extra raw veggies to keep that hunger at bay when you walk by the temping treats. Choose salads with dressings on the side at lunch to start as it helps control calories and hunger. 
• Extra treats lying around the house should be delegated to special times, rather than having the holiday cookies available 24/7 “because it’s the season”. 
• Don’t be afraid to say “no”. Just like spending money—we have to stop and think what our needs are—not our “wants”. 
• Don’t forget about your exercise routine! The holidays can be busy but your body is counting on your normal walks or exercise class. Don’t feel as if you need to increase your activity, just stay the course and keep doing what you have been doing. “Budget the time and your body will budget those calories burned,” says Schroeder.

“If you can choose special foods occasionally and subtract other foods to fit them in, choose when and where you want to splurge, recognize that extra food is around and you have the opportunity to say ‘no, thank you!’ and keep your activity about the same, chances are you will enjoy the holiday season without mindlessly gaining unwanted weight,” says Schroeder.

Lifetime Health Medical Group provides Nutrition Services at its four locations (Joseph C. Wilson, Marion B. Folsom, Greece and Perinton Health Centers). To schedule an appointment, or for more information, call 585/336-4886, or visit www.lifetimehealth.org.

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