How to Avoid Weight Gain Over the Holidays

Many Americans gain weight over the holiday season. Would you like to know how to avoid that demise? Read on.

1. Eat breakfast the day of the holiday meal. Skipping meals only makes you too hungry and likely to over-indulge in a high-fat meal.

2. Exercise the morning of the holiday meal when you are not so full and when you feel more energetic. You are more likely to get more exercising done. Plus, it saves time for football watching or socializing later.

3. Don't graze all day. Save your eating for mealtime only. Eat a healthy, protein snack (if you must) to keep you from getting too hungry, especially if the holiday dinner is scheduled at a later time than you are used to. If appetizers are served, stick to the fresh vegetables and avoid the dip.

Poor Sleep and Weight Gain

Ever notice how hungry you feel when you don't get enough sleep? Did you know that when we are sleep-deprived we eat more because we are actually hungrier? Yes, it's true. Chronic sleep loss disrupts the body's endocrine system by triggering increased insulin resistance and a disruption of appetite regulating hormones. Lack of sleep leads to a rise in ghrelin, the hormone that turns on hunger and a restriction in leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full. And since we are awake longer hours and are often sedentary in that extra waking time we consume more calories than we burn. The result-weight gain.

Mounting evidence suggests that lack of sleep has multiple effects that can all result in weight gain. When our internal clock is disrupted, it may throw of many bodily functions including metabolism, hormonal balance, brain chemistry, cognitive function and immunity. Chronic sleep deprivation may lead to irritability, anxiety and depression-all contributors to emotional eating.

According to a 2006 study of over 68,000 women from the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, women who slept less than five hours a night were 32 percent more likely to gain 33 pounds or more over the 16-year study period than women who slept at least seven hours a night. The bottom line: the more you sleep, the better your body can regulate the chemicals that control hunger, fullness and fat storage.

Sleep is often the first thing we give up when we are short on time. With increasing stress, intense deadlines and 24/7 connectivity via cell phones and the internet, it seems there just aren't enough hours in the day. And yet, adequate sleep is one of the most important aspects of weight maintenance and good health.

So, just how much sleep do we need? While there are no hard and fast rules and individual needs may vary, the National Sleep Foundation recommends that most adults get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. The amount of sleep you need may be more or less;it's the amount you need to feel rested, refreshed and alert.