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The Holiday Bermuda Triangle

Sep 27, 2017

 

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  Oh my!

 

They conjure up thoughts of pumpkins and falling leaves, warm family gatherings, pine trees and wrapping paper . . .

 

. . . and candies and pies, stuffing and gravy, cookies and eggnog.

 

Overeating is as much a part of these American holidays as the gratitude and compassion they developed from.

 

I’ve heard the holiday trifecta referred to as the Bermuda Triangle of Weight Gain.

 

Which is fitting both emotionally and factually. 

 

Studies have documented that Americans gain weight during the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years (click here for a recent review article in the Journal of Obesity).

 

51% of annual weight gain comes at Holiday time.  And the ones most at risk are the very ones who struggle to keep within a normal BMI. 

 

Most distressing is that we tend to keep the majority of this weight for the rest of the year. Yikes!

 

Why am I talking about this in September?! 

 

Because the Halloween candy has been out in the markets for weeks. 

 

Halloween is the gateway to Holiday Season, priming our sweet tooth with candy and making sugar synonymous with fall foliage and then in no time, snowmen.

 

When we add in the intensified shopping, travel and family dynamics that have us off our routines and directly into the stress-zone, you see how easy it is to drop the ball on better food choices.

 

I’m on a mission to help people prevent Holiday weight gain.

 

Prevention is an important Public Health concept.  We (personally and collectively) save time, money and heaps of suffering when we prevent disease rather than wait to treat it.  It works for polio and it can work for overweight/obesity too.

 

Wouldn’t it feel great?  Enjoying the holidays without a holiday hangover on January 1st!  No desperate New Year’s resolution to lose weight.  Wear that outfit and look great at the Holiday parties. 

 

It can be done!

 

A favorite household saying comes to mind, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”  (OK, it’s a little harsh—I think it’s a military saying—but you get the point :)

 

The time to do something about it is now, before you are knee deep in mini-snickers, office muffin baskets and holiday party buffets.

 

And it all starts with a PLAN.

 

I’ve created Dr. Fein’s Weekly Planner to help you do just that!  Download it for FREE right here.  It comes with a Table to fill out each week and detailed instructions on how to use it effectively.

 

In the aforementioned Holiday weight gain studies, the only thing that helped prevent the gain was accountability and awareness (in the form of daily reminders and weekly check-ins).  Using the Planner hits both these points—you fill it out weekly and you check in on it daily.

 

Try it out now. 

 

You will have it down by the time the Holidays are in full swing!

 

And keep an eye out for more information on this topic.

 

Here is to Happier Holidays!

 

Download the FREE Planner here!