Welcome to Straight Talk on Health. I’m your host Dr. Chet Zelasko. Straight Talk on Health is a joint production with WGVU in Grand Rapids MI. I examine the practical application of health information. Nutrition. Exercise. Diet. Supplementation. I look at the science behind them, and let you know whether it’s something to consider or not. You can check out other things that I do on my website Drchet.com and sign up for my free emails.
If you’ve lost weight and want to make sure you don’t see it again, what do you do during the holiday season? And it always seems like there is a holiday going on. The longest is the time from Thanksgiving through New Years. For some, it continues to extend to the Super Bowl. Valentine’s Day. Easter. Memorial Day barbecues. And on and on. It seems like holidays revolve around food and thus, if we’re going to continue to lose weight, or at least not gain any, what works best? Let’s review some of the strategies that people who’ve lost weight and maintained it have used.
The first is from a report from the National Weight Control Registry. In order to be a subject in that study, you have to lose 30 pounds and maintain it for at least a year. Researchers took a group of recent additions to the study. This is important because since they’ve just qualified for being a part of the Registry, they have had, at most, a single experience with eating during the Thanksgiving to New Year Holiday season. The researchers asked them specific questions on their strategies during the upcoming holiday season, and then tracked how they did. They also recruited a group of normal weight people and did the same thing.
Most of the experimental group said they were going to follow their typical routine as related to diet and exercise plan. In other words, they were going to try to strictly follow their weight loss routine. The normal weight individuals didn’t really have any special plans. Most successful losers did follow their plan although they felt it was more difficult during the holiday season. About the same percentage of successful losers and normal weight subjects gained weight, maintained their weight, or lost weight during the holiday season. The difference was that the successful losers found it more challenging to do so based on their response to survey questions. Still, while challenging, they only gained a couple of pounds and most didn’t gain any.
Is that the best strategy? Stay the course? Maybe. Maybe not. Let’s look at the next study on a group of people who lost weight.
The Portuguese Weight Control Registry is similar to the National Weight Control Registry. While the amount lost to qualify is different, 11 pounds, the members still have to have kept the weight off at least a year. In reading the study, it turns out that many countries are following the US model and beginning to track successful losers. Makes sense as obesity is a worldwide problem and the food patterns can be different in every country.
Researchers asked a couple of questions about what techniques participants used for weight maintenance. On a Likert 7-point scale, how strict would they follow their eating plan during the holidays and how strict during the weekends. That allowed the researchers to compare weekdays versus weekends and holidays versus non-holidays. The criteria were different although I don’t know that it made any difference. The researchers were looking at a weight regain of 3% or more that was maintained for an additional year as considering the subjects as “regainers.” What did they find?
Subjects who relaxed their eating plan on weekends maintained their weight loss better than those who strictly adhered to their diet and exercise regimen. The comparison with holiday and non-holiday habits didn’t show any differences in weight regain. Still, there was enough of a trend to suggest that it applies like the weekday vs. weekend. Results. There were a significant number of subjects who dropped out, and that probably impacted the results.
Is a relaxed holiday eating plan better? A strict eating plan? Neither of these studies on the Registries was perfect but it does give us some insight. Depending on your mental make-up, it may be better to stick to your regimen during the holidays or maybe you can relax a little. While not reported, it would depend on your mental willpower at the time. That might change year to year. Well, where does that leave you? With one more study to review that might provide the solution.
In the quest to find the best holiday eating strategy, researchers may have been looking at the wrong metric. Maybe better stated: it was the correct metric but not measured properly. Prior researchers have been looking at the subjects reporting of how well they stuck to their eating habits and exercise program with change in weight a secondary metric. The final study looked at the hard metric: body weight. Here’s what they did.
Researchers recruited subjects who were overweight and obese but had been losing weight, plus a group of normal-weight subjects. They further divided the two groups into control groups and experimental groups. The control groups simply weighed in before the holiday season began at Thanksgiving, after the season ended on January 1st, and again a month later. The experimental groups also weighed in during those times but in addition, they were told to weigh in every day using a scale with Wi-Fi that displayed their body weight graphically to chart progress.
What happened in this study? The control groups, whether overweight, obese, or normal weight, gained an average of close to six pounds during the holiday season. The normal weight subjects who weighed themselves daily maintained their body weight. Those who were overweight and obese continued to lose weight, losing on average 2.5 pounds. At the one month follow-up, the control group lost only half the weight they gained over the holidays. Researchers speculate that annual holiday weight gain contributes to weight gain over a number of years. I agree. No one went to bed at 150 pounds and woke up weighing 250 lbs.
They did not track habits in this study, just results so we don’t know exactly what strategy the subjects used. In reality, it doesn’t matter. You can’t hide from the scale. With immediate feedback, adjustments in eating can be made immediately, not after the 40 days of a holiday season.
What’s the best strategy for holiday eating? There are two things that appear to be critical: maintain your exercise program and weigh yourself regularly, preferably every day. While I didn’t review the research on exercise, there is little question that keeping to an exercise regimen addresses at least half the equation – energy output. One tidbit for you: in one study, subjects were better at maintaining their weight loss if they exercised consistently at the same time of day during the holidays as they did outside of the holiday season. Consistency rocks! Maintaining the exercise habit doesn’t give one an excuse to overeat during the holidays but may help keep any weight gain lower than it otherwise might have been.
I realize that weighing yourself every day can be challenging, not because of physical reasons but because of psychological reasons. Some people view the scale as the enemy that can end up controlling their lives. It’s difficult for people to understand that body weight is just a metric of health, much like blood pressure or cholesterol level. As it relates to holiday eating, remember your daily weight will fluctuate. Why? The volume of food you eat may vary, fluid levels may vary, and one’s ability to eliminate regularly, all may impact the scale on any given day. But it will even out over time. The key is that a person won’t let it get away from them. Weighing regularly is definitely supported by research, whether every day or every week. But if it isn’t for you, don’t do it.
Remember, it is a holiday so lighten up a little and eat the foods you enjoy if they are on the table. Remember, whatever your meal plan, you should be able to eat whatever food you want as long as you control the amount and the frequency. Don’t forget to have some fun, and eating and drinking traditional holiday foods, are part of that. Just maintain some semblance of control. I think those are the best strategies for any time of year. Speaking of time it’s time for me to go so this is Dr. Chet Zelasko saying health is a choice. Choose wisely today and every day.
References:
J Consult Clin Psychol. 2008. 76(3): 442–448.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-019-0430-x
Obesity. 2019;27(6):908-916. doi: 10.1002/oby.22454.
J Phys Act Health. 2021 Aug 14;18(10):1253-1260
