The 4 Tricks to LOSE Weight Over the Holidays

By Shane Allen
Certified Weight Loss Specialist, Personal Trainer, Sports Nutritionist

The holidays are right around the corner. All that hard work to lose or maintain your weight over the summer tends to go by the wayside during fall and winter. But I have four easy-to-do secrets for how to actually lose weight despite those gut-busting holiday meals.

Americans will consume around 3,000 calories at the Thanksgiving table. But it’s not the calories that make you gain weight, it’s the casseroles– specifically the starchy carbs hidden in those casseroles.

Calories don’t create fat—starchy carbs and sugars do. Even green bean casserole has French fried onions on top. Broccoli cheese casserole? Rice.

While I’m on the subject of carbs, be sure to also avoid stuffing/dressing, rolls and potatoes.

The British Journal of Sports Medicine even said this year that carbs and sugar– not lack of exercise– are to blame for obesity and type 2 diabetes. This is because carbs and sugar are what your body converts into fat for energy storage.

Avoid all starchy carbs during your Thanksgiving dinner and you won’t gain weight. Even better— you won’t have to count calories either. And trust me, there’s still plenty left to chow down on if you keep the casseroles at bay.

As referenced above, sugars are in the same boat as starchy carbs when it comes to fat gain. But sugars do it much quicker, and with greater side effects.  Spikes in your blood glucose levels can cause you to crave more carbs and then give you that “crash” feeling later.

Keep that gelatinous cranberry sauce in the can. Push those pies away.

There is one—and only one—sugar allowance: apples. They’re low glycemic and high in fiber, which means your body goes through less of a sugar spike and energy swing when you eat them.

Here’s a great fat busting, guilt free apple dessert alternative to help lose weight over the holiday:

Pie-Less Apple Bake

Ingredients

• 1 Apple, cored and sliced into wedges
• 1 T Butter
• Non-caloric sweetener such as Splenda or Stevia to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon (or to taste) apple pie spice

How to make:

1. On a small baking tray, arrange apple wedges in layers.
2. Dab the butter on top of the apple. Sprinkle sweetener and apple pie spice over everything.
3. Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
4. Serve warm or pack into lunch containers and refrigerate until ready to use as a snack or with lunch.

No starchy carbs and no sugar. What’s left?

I create a very full thanksgiving plate every year by focusing on eating meats, vegetables, eggs, cheeses and nuts. That leaves me with turkey (fried or roasted), ham, deviled eggs, greens, summer squash, corn on the cob, broccoli with cheese…The list goes on!

By doing this you’re focusing on what you’re eating, not how much you’re eating—which means you don’t need to worry about counting calories.

Chugging a couple glasses of water before your holiday meal could help you lose weight, according to a recent study in the journal “Obesity.” This makes sense because water fills up your stomach, helping you feeling more satiated.

The key in this experiment was that the test group drank water 30 minutes before each meal. Researchers think this time between drinking and eating helps you feel full while giving you time to shape better decisions about what you eat.

Now, while water can help you lose weight by making you eat less, it’s not a magic bullet. Still remember tips 1, 2 and 3.

Here is a handy-dandy chart to help you avoid the wrong foods while loading up on the good foods at your family’s Thanksgiving table

About the Writer

Shane Allen is a certified weight loss specialist, personal trainer and sports nutritionist. He joined Personal Trainer Food™ after 12 years in television news where he worked both on air and behind the scenes in news management. Shane is an EMMY®, Edward R. Murrow, National Society of Professional Journalists and Texas Associated Press Broadcasters award-winner.