Despite Christmas time decrease!

Weight Loss During Christmas: Easy Tips to Help

Cookies, holiday roast, punch and mulled wine: Christmas time is usually more feast than usual. The effects of gluttony can often be seen quickly on the scales. But despite feasting at Christmas, you can avoid gaining weight. With some tips from British scientists, you can even lose weight during the holidays.

In winter we are the thickest

Mulled wine, cookies, eggnog, gingerbread: During the Christmas season, there are so many foods that quickly become noticeable on the scales. The fact that we are thickest in winter has also been shown in a study by American scientists at Cornell University. The researchers analyzed how public holidays in Germany, the US and Japan influence weight gain. "In all three countries, the weight of participants increased within 10 days of Christmas," the authors reported in the "New England Journal of Medicine." But that would not be necessary if you followed ten tips that British researchers urged participants in a study that has just been published.

The treats in the Christmas time seduce to dine. That quickly makes for extra hip gold. But that need not be. Researchers have some simple tips on how to avoid weight gain at Christmas. (Image: Kzenon / fotolia.com)

How not to increase at Christmas time

A study by scientists from the British universities of Birmingham and Loughborough has shown that some simple tips can help to keep up with the Christmas season.

According to the research published in the medical journal "The BMJ", the tricks can even help to lose weight a bit.

For the study, which ran under the name "Winter Weight Watch Study", 272 subjects were randomized into either an "intervention group" or a "comparison group".

Intervention group participants were asked to weigh at least twice a week, ideally every day, and to record their weight to help them monitor the intake of food and drink.

They also received ten weight-loss tips and a list of how much physical activity would be required to burn the calories found in popular foods and drinks consumed at Christmas.

For example, according to a press release from the universities, one has to walk 33 minutes to consume the calories of a small glass of mulled wine.

In contrast, the peer group received only a brief fact sheet on how to lead a healthy lifestyle that did not include nutritional advice.

Ten tips for weight management

In a contribution of the "BBC" the ten tips to the weight management are betrayed:

• Try to eat at about the same time every day
• Choose as low-fat food as possible
• Walk 10,000 steps every day
• Pack a healthy snack - choose fresh fruit or low-calorie yogurt
• Check foods for hidden sugars and fats
• Do not pack too large portions on the plate (except vegetables)
• Get up every hour for ten minutes
• Drink water or low-calorie drinks like fruit juice. Alcohol is restricted
• Focus on your food. Do not eat on the move or in front of the TV
• Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day

Study participants even decreased

The study was conducted in 2016 and 2017. Participants were weighed and measured each year in November and December, and subsequent follow-up measurements were taken in January and February 2017 and 2018.

The results showed that the subjects of the comparison group increased on average 0.37 kilograms, while the others even decreased somewhat - on average 0.13 kilograms.

The difference was only a pound, but the researchers had also not checked whether the participants had heeded all the tips.

6,000 calories a day

Christmas time and holidays provide "the opportunity for overconsumption and physical inactivity," said first author Frances Mason of the University of Birmingham's Institute of Applied Health Research.

Given the many temptations in December, even the most disciplined people find it hard to resist calorie intake.

"On Christmas Day alone, a person can eat 6,000 calories - three times the recommended daily allowance," says the expert.

"Low-intensity measures, such as those used in our Winter Weight Watch study, should be considered by health policy makers to prevent weight gain in the population during high-risk periods such as vacations."

Every year one kilo heavier

"On average, people are gaining as much as a pound every year, and holidays like Christmas are responsible for much of that weight gain," said senior study author Professor Amanda Daley from the University of Loughborough.

Although an increase of one kilogram would not be much in itself, over ten years the increase would be significant.

"Our research has shown that a brief intervention during the Christmas period can help prevent these small weight gains that accumulate and drive the obesity epidemic," said Daley. (Ad)