Don’t Be Average This Holiday Season, Avoid the 6 lb. Weight Gain!

The average American gains 6 pounds between Thanksgiving and January 1st. I don’t know about you, but I don’t even want to gain 1 pound this holiday season. It is very easy to gain weight, and very difficult to lose it. It takes 3200 calories to gain one pound of fat, it also takes a caloric deficit of 3200 to lose 1 pound of fat.

Here is an example of the number of calories consumed during a typical Thanksgiving dinner and amount of exercise needed to burn the calories.

• One mixed drink
• One glass of wine
• One cup of coffee with cream and sugar
• One cracker with cheese
• Half a cup of mixed nuts
• One ounce of potato or tortilla chips
• One teaspoon of chip dip
• Six ounces of white and dark turkey
• Half a cup of stuffing, Half a cup of mashed potatoes
• Half a cup of gravy
• Half a cup of green bean casserole
• Half a cup of candied sweet potatoes
• A dinner roll
• A pat of butter
• A slice of pumpkin pie

Total Thanksgiving Day calories consumed 2685 calories.

You will need to walk 26.85 miles, or 53700 steps!

I have told all of my personal training clients to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and all of the yummy food it has to offer. My one request is that on Friday, they return to a clean eating plan and stick to it as much as possible throughout the holidays.

Holiday weight gain does not happen by over indulging in a few meals. It happens because for many nights over the course of 5 weeks, we are meeting friends for cocktails and high calorie meals. Follow a clean eating strategy Monday through Sunday during the day, and aim for clean eating 4 nights per week. A well planned eating strategy, and a very consistent workout schedule will enable you to enjoy the holidays and still fit in to your pants on January 1st.

Anne Parker, CSCS
HealthStyles Exercise Equipment
Director of Education and Programs
training@healthstylesexercise.com.