Between the Thanksgiving Day feast and New Year’s Eve’s festivities, indulging in a few cookies and cocktails is a given. Of course, there can be a downside:
A Swedish study found that healthy adults gained an average of 14 pounds during a four-week period of increased calorie intake.
And while that finding hardly comes as a shock, the study also revealed that although subjects lost 71 percent of that weight within six months, their fat mass was 6.8 pounds greater and their cholesterol was still elevated when reasearchs checked in on them two years later.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the culinary delights of the season. Emerging science points to dietary tactics that pervent excess calories from being absorbed so indulgences don’t have a chance to cause weight gain or long term damage.
Plus, some of your favorites actually help burn body fat.
Read on for the two success strategies:
1. Include fiber at every meal.
Every gram of fiber consumed blocks at least 7 calories from being absorbed during digestion, according to a German study. The reason: fiber (found in celery, leafy greens, whole grains, nuts and fruit) traps fat molecules and carries them out of the body. It also speeds transit of sugars through the GI tract, so those calories aren’t fully digested or absorbed. Another boon: fiber increases bulk in the stomach, which promotes feelings of satiety to help reduce food intake by 40 percent.
2. Fill your plate with color
Pairing high calorie meals with the phytonutrient rich produce or wine helps neutralize oxidative stress and inflammation (both of which signal cells to store fat), according to a study in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. Plus, some phytonutritents activate fat burning genes. In one study, subjects who consumed them daily gained 24 percent less weight on a high calorie diet than those who didn’t.
It’s so easy!
Here are some meals that contain fiber and phytonutrients, as well as resistant starch, a compound in some carbs (including bananas, potatoes, and oats) that acts like fiber to block fat.
So you can enjoy your holiday feast without worry, or create a slim through the holidays plan.
Here is a simple day:
Breakfast: Yogurt Banana Parfait Recipe
Lunch: Mini Country Pot Pie recipe
Dinner: Eye round roast recipe with roasted green with almonds recipe
Dessert: Low Calorie Baked Apple Crisp recipe
