Why Dieters Will Gain Weight The Holiday Season

Diet and Weight Loss During The Holiday

The holiday conspiracy is no longer just about pre-Halloween discount sales and holiday decorating that's up before Thanksgiving. If you are on a diet during the holidays, your diet and weight loss plans are going to be sabotaged.

Dieters will be coaxed by the huge portions at Thanksgiving, rich desserts at Christmas festivities, and high-calorie snacks at Super Bowl get-togethers. With so many temptations, people watching their weight tend to just give up and go off their diet " now more than any other time of the year. That's when the weight comes on. A little planning and know-how is all you need to get past the champagne, stuffing, eggnog, popcorn and cookies that are as much a part of the holiday celebrations as the partridge in the pear tree.

Dr. Edward Abramson, author of Body Intelligence: Lose Weight, Keep It Off, and Feel Great About Your Body Without Dieting! , offers handy tips to bear in mind during the holidays:

• Simple anticipation and planning will reduce Holiday eating

• At parties, carry a glass of sparkling water so that your hands will be occupied " it makes it harder to snack

• Learn to cope with Holiday stresses without eating to make yourself feel better (see Chapter 4)

• Plan either a serious or humorous assertive response to social pressures to eat " "Santa brought me willpower a little early this season." (see Chapter 5)

• Alcoholic drinks add calories and are disinhibitors, making overeating more likely. Ditch the drinks and you will ditch the big appetite that comes with it.

Edward Abramson, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized expert on eating and weight disorders. A Professor of Psychology at California State University and former Director of the Eating Disorders Center at Chico Community Hospital, he has been called "the go-to authority on the 'why' of weight gain". In Body Intelligence he explains how many of the formerly fat have gotten off the diet merry-go-round and learned to control overeating, become comfortable with physical activity, and gain an affirming view of their bodies. www.dredabramson.com