Research shows the average adult weight gain through the holiday season is slight, but it sticks with you.  A pound or two annually can equal 25-30 over the course of adulthood.  Nowadays, the winter holidays tend to span a couple months rather than a few weeks so there is plenty of time to enjoy your favorites– in moderation.  Enjoy pumpkin pie a time or two around Thanksgiving, but then agree to pass.  Splurge on a peppermint mocha here and there when you’re out holiday shopping, but then swear them off until next season.

Here are a few other tips to beat winter weight gain:

Beware of beverages

Specialty coffees:

o    There is a reason holiday lattes and mochas taste so good!  Depending on size and extras (syrups, whipped cream, etc.) they can easily be in over 400 calories.
o    If you can’t resist, choose a smaller size, ask for less syrup than the recipe calls for, choose lowfat milk, and hold the whipped cream.

Eggnog:

o    Made with milk, cream, beaten eggs, and sugar, this holiday treat contains 340 calories per 8 ounces.  Often paired with alcohol, eggnog is one holiday treat that can blow your calorie budget.  As a general rule, beware of any beverage that feels more like a milkshake going down.

Alcohol:

o With more family and friends around, holiday parties to attend, and increased stress levels, many Americans tend to increase their alcohol intake around the holidays.  If you choose to include it, remember the rules of moderation.

o    Moderate alcohol intake is considered one drink per day for women or two per day for men.

One drink is equal to:

1.5 oz liquor
12 oz beer
5 oz wine

o    These contain anywhere from 75-150 calories alone, not including mixers or foods you may pair them with.

Start your exercise resolution early

o   Nothing will feel better than escaping the holidays without weight gain.  Set goals for number of days per week and total time spent exercising.  Most gyms have incentives on initiation rates and monthly fees.  It’s all about planning- try new classes and use the buddy system.  Think of it as a gift to yourself!
o  Be realistic- there will be days you can’t workout so don’t beat yourself up over it, just pick up where you left off as soon as you can.

Go to holiday parties with a plan

o  Eat normally throughout the day and avoid arriving extremely hungry.
o  Choose carefully between drinks, appetizers, second helpings, and desserts.  For example, choose between appetizers OR desserts, but not both.  Use the small plates to your advantage in helping control portion sizes.
o  Do all the talking.  You’ll have less time to eat.

Be careful while shopping

o  Go between meals, or pack snacks to avoid eating poorly on the run.

Give away your baked goods

o  Sure the holidays are a great time to bake, but give baked goods away and share any you receive.  To avoid excess “taste tests,” avoid baking when you’re hungry.

Monitor stress eating

o Keep cravings out of the house.
o Use a journal to help keep your stress level in check.

Give leftovers a short shelf life

o They’re great for a couple days, but we tend to overeat when they’re around.  Keep them around for a day or two and then be done.  If you think you’ll end up with too much, give some away to your guests.  Buy extra storage containers and zipper bags in advance to encourage you to share.

Traveling tips

o Remember previous posts regarding what to eat in an airport and what to eat on the road when you embark on holiday travels.  Whatever you do, leave the baked goods in the trunk.

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and founder of www.Skinnyandthecity.com.    She is also the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being.  For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.

With Thanksgiving behind us, we are quickly approaching the holiday season!  There are several skin and body care tips that can help keep you looking your best, while at the same time, keeping your skin healthy and young.

Whether you go on vacation this year or stay near home, you are always exposed to ultraviolet rays when outdoors.  With innovation and advanced technology, we have changed the paradigm to protect your skin against harmful sun damage, free radicals and environmental toxins.  I believe that the best protection is achieved by using a broad-spectrum sunblock (that protects against shortwave UVA and longwave UVB light) along with a high-potency antioxidant cream (containing active agents such as resveratrol, idebenone and vitamin C, and coffeeberry).

Whether you are skiing with your family or on the beach enjoying the sunshine, do not forget that the strongest sun exposure occurs between the hours of 12 noon and 4 pm.  These are the times you should minimize your sun exposure.  If you get sunburned, new red light LED sources are available from your dermatologist that can accelerate healing, reduce redness and decrease the potential for damage to your skin. 

During the winter holiday season, especially in colder climates, our skin gets drier.  So it’s important to stay away from hot showers which dry the skin and to be sure to apply generous amounts of moisturizer to your entire body while your skin is still damp. Moisturizers with SPF are always a good bet because they automatically protect your skin.

There are also several procedures that can make your skin look better with no downtime.  It may be a Botox treatment, filler treatment with Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesse or new generation collagen fillers such as Evolence that can get rid of those unwanted folds and lines.  These will all give immediate results and give you a refreshed, youthful appearance.

To make your skin look fresher, consider a light chemical peel, laser peel, microdermabrasion or an Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) photo rejuvenation treatment.  These are all easy, virtually painless, and have little to no downtime.  But remember; you should do such treatments at least two weeks before a big event or celebration. 

Dr. Neil Sadick is one of the most renowned dermatologists and researchers whose multiple discoveries have strongly influenced and transformed the future of dermatology. He is a Professor of Dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College and President of the Cosmetic Surgery Foundation. Dr. Sadick is author, or co-author, of more than 500 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has contributed more than 75 chapters of medical books. Read more at www.sadickdermatology.com.

The holiday season is a stressful time of year, and this year many families are feeling the crunch, making it even harder for those who are limited in their resources for giving gifts to their loved ones. In an attempt to help ease the stress, many writers and bloggers have published articles aimed at helping people by giving them suggestions on everything from books to make-it-yourself holiday baskets.

Yes, I know that gifts are optional. But let’s be real, it doesn’t matter who you are, Christmas means presents — especially for kids. Now most families will try to make sure that they have something for their little ones, but parents will also feel the guilt of not being able to give something to each other.

Now, I thought about this scenario for a while and then told my wife I did not want any presents. Not because of the money, but because I am so sad about some of the current problems we are all facing.

I sat there and reflected on the sad state of affairs this holiday season, when just like in the movie, Moonstruck, she hit me on the side of my head and said, “Snap out of it!”

So then I began to think about the perfect gift for me this Christmas. And that’s when it came to me…the perfect gift for me would be something that would bring me joy, make me feel young, and last for a long, long time. Now I know what you’re thinking — but that’s not exactly what I had in mind. My perfect gift this year would be to reconnect with a long lost friend.

I told my wife that if she wanted to give me a great gift this year, it would be to find my best friend from high school. Now this guy was my buddy, who for all four years was always at my side, and with whom many of my fondest high school memories were shared. But somehow college, medical school, residencies and life in general had separated Joe and me for almost 30 years. Let’s face it — I had forgotten about Joe. But this Christmas season, while thinking about my perfect gift, I remembered him.

Three days later, my wife called me up and said, “I found him and it only cost me $9.95.” She had gone on the Internet and tracked him down through one of the many Web sites, that for a small fee, offer a lifetime of priceless memories. So she got his number and left a message, and for the next few hours, all of my kids waited around with me to see when Joe would call.

Later that evening, Joe called me back and for those 15 minutes of conversation with my old friend, I felt like I was in high school again.

Memories are good, but when you can make those memories a reality, they make you feel the way all holidays should make us feel: Great.