How to Not Feel the Guilt for Christmas Eating

By Brian Taylor
Ultimate Body Transformation Studio

Christmas is a great time of the year as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Christmas holiday also gives us an opportunity to enjoy family and friends and to relax. On the flip side, due to the commercialization of the Christmas ‘season’, stress can take the joy away from celebrating the real meaning of Christmas. As kids lists have not only become longer but also more expensive, we all feel a little more pressure to ‘over-give’ and extend our finances past what it can handle.

Now add that stress to the over-eating that normally occurs during the holiday season, which actually starts Thanksgiving weekend through Christmas, and past New-Years Day. Stress and eating are not a good combination for the body.

Stress can affect the body because of a hormone released called cortisol which is released when the body or mind is under stress. The worrying about how to give your kids a ‘Huxtable’ Christmas can wear on you, especially when family and friends are spending a lot of money for their kids and spouses – as a side note, many times they are under the same financial duress as you may be. Then to make the holidays worse is that most of us charge, via credit cards, what we buy and thus we end of paying for Christmas months and sometimes years later: more stress. And what happens when you lose your job or your spouse loses their job? More Stress!

Chronic stress can affect your body in a few ways:

1. Your Cravings – When I am stressed, sometimes I look at grabbing something quick to help me self-medicate against the release of cortisol. Two types of food really satisfy this hormonal release: something sweet and something salty. Which means, out comes the ore’s and the Doritos.

2. Storage of Fat – Higher levels of stress has been linked to higher levels of abdominal fat. Higher levels of abdominal fat leads to other health issues, one of which is diabetes.

3. Your Metabolism – No matter what you eat during times of stress, large amounts of cortisol released in the body is known to slow down metabolism.

Not only does stress affect the body, but it will take a toll on you mentally by making you lethargic and not wanting to work out or engage in any physical activity. Your body is a trained vessel and whatever it gets used to doing you must train it to reverse. Thus, when you neglect workouts during the holidays, it will be more difficult to get in to a work out regiment again.

Now that we have talked about what stress can do to your body and how it affects your health, let’s turn to how to combat the core issue during the holidays: OUR EATING.

Being a Southerner and especially growing up in New Orleans, eating fat foods is well, just what we do. Everything is fried or cooked in butter or grease. All those delights such as Gumbo, Jambalaya, and other creole specials come with a caloric cost. Then add the sweet potato pies, cakes and other treats which we snack on while hanging out, playing a game of spades, or watching a football game and you have a holiday disaster.

Most of us really plan on eating well during the holidays but it’s just too difficult. Here are a few Holiday tips to make that new-year’s resolution a little bit easier to manage – you know the one which is always centered on getting fit.

1. Drink Plenty of Water – this will give your stomach and your brain the illusion that you are full which really helps especially as our coworkers are constantly bringing in baked goods and snacks.

2. Plan your snacks – whether you are at home or work, the temptation of picking up a piece of cake, or grabbing some chips is constantly there. The best way to combat this is to bring your own snacks to work (fruit and veggies) or make sure there are enough ‘good snacks’ around the house. Veggies and fruit are usually filled with fiber which gives you a full feeling and divert you from having those fatty sugary snacks.

3. Cook – when you cook, you are in control of what you eat and it keeps you from hitting the fast food places which can wreak havoc on your health.

4. Exercise – seems simple and it is. Even during these cold winter months, there are plenty of exercises you can do at home in addition to joining UBT Studio for our free group exercise classes on Monday and Wednesday nights at the Pratt Center (Download UBT's Schedule at www.ubtstudio.com ).

5. Eat right on Christmas Day – Start by drinking an 8-16oz glass of water about 30 minutes before you eat. If possible, and I know many people do not make them on Christmas day, but eat a salad before you start your main course – it could even be a fruit salad. As stated above, fiber will fill you up and give you the ‘I’m full’ illusion. Lastly, sample all of the food. Sometimes we get a big full plate with a few items. Be liberal and try them all so that you will not grab a huge amount of what you like, which usually is the most fatty foods or those filled with carbohydrates or sugars.

If you would like more information on eating right and exercising or have any questions please contact me at btaylor@ubtstudio.com.