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New Year's holidays are a time of evenings in the family circle, fun gatherings with friends, long-awaited gifts and, of course, a festive feast. You are happy, your loved ones are with you, there is a long weekend ahead: even those who usually adhere to the principles of healthy eating find it difficult to give up their favorite snacks, salads and sweets.
And then the holidays are over and it turns out that you gained a few kilograms in just a couple of days. Why does this happen every year and is there a balance between healthy eating habits and pleasure? Let's figure it out.
Nataliya Samoilenko - endocrinologist, nutritionist, director and founder of the clinic of dietetics said that the main reason for overeating is right in front of us - here it is, the set New Year's table. During the winter holidays, we cook and eat in incredible quantities, while our "classic" diet is not the most balanced and healthy: there are our favorite mayonnaise salads, and fatty types of meat, as well as smoked meats and marinades, sweets for every taste and, of course, strong alcohol.
But the abundance and even questionable composition of festive dishes are not the only reasons for overeating!
- Numerous studies confirm: we eat more in the company. And a number of specialists are sure: the reason lies in the connection between overeating and emotions. Heard about the habit of eating stress and fatigue? It turns out that positive experiences and festive atmosphere can also provoke hunger.
- Portion size affects how much we eat. In one experiment, two groups of people were offered soup. The first group could take the supplement, the second group did not, but the plates were refilled imperceptibly for the participants with the help of special equipment. As a result, people with full plates ate much more than those who could pour as much soup as they wanted on their own.
- Diversity is insidious. Taste sensations give us pleasure - it is difficult to stop eating while we feel it. In a normal situation, our brain quickly "gets used" to the taste of the food and stops feeling anything special about it, so we finish the meal on time. But if you collect a whole carnival of tastes on a plate, it will be much more difficult to stop: as a result, you will eat about 4 times more than usual. Remember the buffet: its problem is also not that access to food is not limited!
- We overeat when we drink alcohol. There are several reasons at once - on the one hand, we are less able to control ourselves and become more impulsive. On the other hand, alcohol disrupts the perception of our own body's signals: we can hardly feel pain, cold or satiety. We lose weight by the New Year. And there is no problem in this, if a slight calorie deficit and a balanced diet help us lose weight. But strict diets provoke eating disorders: most likely, a breakdown awaits at the New Year's table after a long period of hunger.
How much can you get?
In fact, not so much: a few days of overeating, depending on the characteristics of the body and the level of physical activity, will not add more than 0,5-1 kilograms of fat mass. Everything else is liquid: it is retained in the body due to salt, sugar and, strangely enough, the dehydration caused by alcohol.
Eliminating edema can be difficult: the speed at which the body gets rid of excess fluid depends on your individual characteristics (eg, the state of the lymphatic system) and lifestyle. If you like salty and don't move much, the water will stay with you a little longer.
Why is it dangerous to overeat?
In itself, a couple of extra kilos is not a tragedy. The real danger of episodic overeating lies in the load the body receives and its impact on our habits:
- Overeating provokes exacerbation of chronic diseases. Gastritis, pancreatitis, liver disorders - any problems with the digestive system require careful treatment. It is especially dangerous to break the diet you are used to.
- It is difficult to recover from overeating. Even occasional deviations from habits change eating behavior — unfortunately, not for the better. We don't pack on much during the holidays — but studies show that shedding that extra weight is not easy for most people.
- Overeating causes guilt. And this can lead to serious consequences! People who are ashamed of a couple of kilograms they have gained can start to "eat" guilt or, on the contrary, punish themselves with starvation, which always lead to new overeating.
How to stay in shape and not harm your health
Should you give up festive feasts in order to maintain your usual diet? Of course not! Spend the most magical time of the year with fun — and love for yourself.
- Do not sit down at the table feeling hungry. Before dinner, drink a glass of warm water or eat a light vegetable salad: having dulled your hunger, it is much easier to refrain from overeating.
- Experiment with recipes. Will the salad become worse if you dress it with a light yogurt sauce instead of mayonnaise? You won't know if you don't try! Today, there are many useful interpretations of the "classic" holiday treat - and they are invented not only by dieters or proper nutritionists, but also by real stars of the restaurant business.
- Choose the best. Having dinner as a guest, and healthy alternatives are not in honor here? Just assess the situation and try to assemble a useful plate from what you have at your disposal. Choose low-fat varieties of meat and fish, add vegetables and fruits, do not get carried away with smoked and pickled foods. Of course, you don't have to deny yourself your favorite treats - if you see something you can't live without, take it. But it is better to limit yourself to a small portion.
- Move more. Winter holidays are a great time for outdoor recreation. Go out of town with your friends, go ice skating, arrange a photo session in the park. We gain weight for one reason: if we eat more calories than our body uses. Therefore, it is worth increasing energy consumption a little.
- Don't blame yourself for what you ate. Do you feel that you have overeaten? Do not think about it for too long - just decide for yourself that tomorrow you will continue to eat as usual. Don't skip breakfast or declare an unloading day. It is better to help the body to recover faster: prepare something light and useful, go for a walk, watch your favorite movie. Stress and negative experiences will still not help you lose weight: it has been scientifically proven that they slow down metabolism.
Remember that the best "medicine" for overeating is food culture: make a healthy diet a part of everyday life, don't skip meals, don't make it a rule to snack on the go or while watching a movie.
The support of a specialist (nutritionist, nutritionist, professional trainer - if you play sports) will help to form good habits. It is best to prepare healthy food yourself - this way you will always be sure of the composition and be able to monitor the balance of KBZHU. And for those who want to save a few hours and "get into the mode" faster, there are now healthy food delivery services with balanced meals.