Procrastination Station

I’m a big procrastinator.

I admit, but I’m not either proud or ashamed of it. I try to keep myself on task for most things (you know, important things like hair) but a lot of things I tend to put off until “later”. This undisclosed time of “later” can be several hours or several weeks. But I’m realizing that sometimes, things don’t need to wait until “later”.

Weight loss and getting healthy is one of those things. The fall is a crucial time of year for people. The holidays start coming and with it, a lot of stress, a lot of get-togethers, and a lot of food! People just tend to eat more around the holidays. Personally, I know that there have already been a ton of treats and candy that I’ve had to say no to. If  I thought Halloween was bad before, Halloween with a child has been murder. Everything involving children is like a magnet for terrible (and delicious) foods.

So what do we do during this crucial time? All summer we worried about losing weight to look good in that swim suit or summer dress. But with the holidays coming, a lot of people toss that to the side. They eat and eat and eat because “It’s Christmas”, “It’s thanksgiving” , “It’s Kwanza”.  “I’ll do better in the new year”.

It’s a vicious cycle…one that I have been through a few times. After the guilt of all the holiday eating, everyone runs to join the gym and starts a super strict diet of celery sticks and baked chicken. For about a month, the gym is packed to the brim. The usual memebers take in all in stride. They may grumble a bit, but they wait it out.

Because they know what I know: Only a small percentage of these newly hardcore gym goers will be there in a month. Eventually, they fall back into their old ways, maybe pick up the exercise a bit for the summer, hit the holidays again, and the cycle continues.

So you might say, what’s the big deal? You may have read in the media that the average person gains seven pounds during the holidays. It turns out that the truth is closer to one pound a year for the average person. For the person who is already overweight, the weight gain is closer to five pounds.

The results of this study:

The prevalence of obesity continues to rise and controversy remains regarding the underlying specific causes of this trend. Recently, the magnitude of holiday weight gain and its contribution to annual weight gain were examined in a convenience sample of 195 adults. On average, weight gain during the 6-week winter period from Thanksgiving through New Year averaged only 0.37 kg. However, weight gain was greater among individuals who were overweight or obese, and 14% gained >2.3 kg (5 lb). In addition, among the entire population, weight gain during the 6-week holiday season explained 51% of annual weight gain. These results suggest that holiday weight gain may be an important contributor to the rising prevalence of obesity, even though absolute values for weight gain in this study were less than anticipated. Further studies using representative populations are needed to confirm these findings.

One pound a year still not a big deal? This article written by the National Institute of Health says that the problem lies in the fact that most people don’t lose that one pound. So in ten years, you have an extra ten pounds.

Of course holiday eating isn’t the sole reason people are overweight,but every little bit hurts when you’re trying to get healthy.

I am facing a lot of temptation right now and there’s more around the corner. I do have a treat now and then, and I know I’ll have more this season. But I’m still exercising and I’m stopping when I’m full. I also say “No thanks” to a lot of sweets that I would’ve gobbled up in the past.

But somehow I have persevered. I am losing this weight slowly but this fall I am  down 3 pounds thus far. That may not be a lot to some people, but slow and steady wins the race I’m told.

So, my point to this article?

You can still enjoy holiday food in moderation. You can still keep up your exercise through the holiday season. Make it a family activity after the Thanksgiving meal and take a walk around the neighborhood. Or play with your new Wii fit after Christmas dinner.

Whatever you do, don’t say “What the hell, it’s Christmas, I can just work this off in January”, eat two more pieces of pie, and then go veg out on the couch.

Know that I’m right there with you trying to keep myself in check!