Holiday Eating Damage Control

Written by Rick Morris Wednesday, 16 November 2011 15:08

Holiday Eating Damage Control

The holiday season reminds me a lot of the “Star Wars” movies. There’s a very good side to the season with all of the parties, gift giving, meeting new friends and getting together with family. But along with the good side is a “dark side” that we all go over to during the holiday season. That dark side is all of the excess calories we consume. Holiday eating isn’t all on the dark side. There’s great enjoyment in savoring all of the holiday flavors and cuisines. But, there comes a day of reckoning. That’s where the dark side comes in. The indulgence in excessive eating comes with a price. We pay the price in added pounds that seem to find their way directly to our hips and waist.

Calories Add Up
There’s good news. It takes around 3,500 excess calories to add one pound of fat to your body. That’s a lot of calories. The bad news is that many holiday meals are huge. For instance, a typical Thanksgiving meal of turkey, gravy, sweet potato, cornbread stuffing, rolls, vegetables and pumpkin pie will usually total between 3,000 to 4,000 calories. Unless you’re eating your dinner on an exercise bike, you’re looking at putting on nearly a pound in just one meal.

The calorie content of these holiday meals can be very high, but they don’t have to spell disaster for your waistline. Even if you put on a pound or two during the holiday season, you’re not going to blow up like a balloon although you may feel like you are after stuffing yourself. By carefully managing your exercise levels during the holidays and the weeks leading up to the extravagant meals, you can control the damage done to your weight and body fat levels.

Damage Control Methods
Your best friend in controlling your weight during the holiday season is your treadmill. Working out on the treadmill is the most efficient way of burning calories available to you. Walking or running on the treadmill at one percent elevation burns approximately 110 calories per mile. This will vary slightly depending on your weight, how fast you’re walking or running and how efficient you are at the exercise. But 110 calories per mile is usually a fairly accurate estimate for most users. Running outside on level ground also burns about 110 calories per mile. The treadmill should be set on one percent elevation to offset the lack of wind resistance and the assistance that the moving treadmill belt gives you. This makes treadmill running equal to running outside on level ground.

There are two strategies in holiday damage control. One is preemptive and the other is reactive. If you want to keep the damage to a minimum, I would suggest using both methods.

Preemptive Damage Control
The key to preemptive damage control is planning ahead. During the holiday season you should increase both the quantity and quality of your exercise. This is like putting money or “burned calories” in the bank. If you’re planning on eating a large holiday meal in the 3,500-calorie range, increase your calorie burn by about 500 calories per day for seven days leading up to your meal. You are in effect, losing the weight before you put it on. The net result will be zero weight gain and you’ll be able to enjoy a guilt-free feeding frenzy!

Here’s a sample preemptive workout schedule for a 3,500-calorie holiday meal:

Seven Days to Mealtime
Set the treadmill elevation at one percent. Run for one mile at your typical easy run pace. Slow to a brisk walking pace for 1/4 mile. Repeat this sequence of one mile of running and 1/4 mile of walking for a total of four sets.
Workout Distance– 5 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 550

Six Days to Mealtime
Set the treadmill elevation at one percent. Run for one mile at your easy pace. Increase the elevation to two percent and run for one more mile. Raise the elevation to three percent and run for 1/2 mile. Then increase the elevation to four percent and run for 1/2 mile. Decrease the elevation to two percent and run for 1/2 mile. Now increase the elevation to five percent and run for 1/4 mile before decreasing the elevation back to two percent for 1/2 mile.
Workout Distance— 4.25 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 560

Five Days to Mealtime
Set the elevation at one percent and run for two miles at your easy pace. Slow down to a brisk walking pace for 1/2 mile and then speed back up to your easy running pace for two more miles.
Workout Distance— 4.50 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 495

Four Days to Mealtime
Set the treadmill elevation to one percent. Run at your easy pace for one mile. Increase the pace of the treadmill by 30 seconds per mile and run for 1/2 mile. Slow down to a brisk walking pace for 1/2 mile. Speed up to 45 seconds per mile faster than your easy pace and run for 1/2 mile. Slow down to a brisk walking pace for 1/2 mile. Now speed up to one minute per mile faster than your normal easy run pace for 1/2 mile. Slow down to a brisk walking pace for 1/2 mile. Speed up to your normal easy run pace and run for one mile.
Workout Distance— 5 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 550

Three Days to Mealtime
Set the treadmill elevation to one percent. Run at your easy pace for two miles. Increase the elevation to three percent and run for one mile. Then increase the elevation to five percent and run for one more mile. Cool down with 1/2 mile at one percent elevation.
Workout Distance— 4.5 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 595

Two Days to Mealtime
Set the elevation at one percent and run for three miles at your easy pace. Slow down to a brisk walking pace for 1/2 mile, then speed up to your easy run pace for one mile.
Workout Distance— 4.5 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 495

One Day to Mealtime
Set the treadmill elevation at one percent. Run at your easy pace for one mile. Then speed up to one minute per mile faster than your normal easy pace for 1/2 mile. Repeat this sequence for a total of three sets.
Workout Distance— 4.5 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 495

Meal Day
Set the treadmill elevation at one percent. Run at your easy pace for five miles.
Workout Distance— 5 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 550
Total Miles for the Week— 32.75
Approximate Calories Burned for the Week— 3,795

At the end of this preemptive program you’ve already burned off your meal and as a side benefit, you’ve improved your fitness and endurance levels.

Reactive Damage Control
Your main holiday meal isn’t the only source of excess calories. What about the extra piece of pie or the late night leftover snacks? Don’t forget about the glasses of eggnog or the chocolate chip cookies you munched on. These are food items we all end up consuming during the holidays. They’re hard to resist and we sometimes eat them without even thinking about it. No worries! These unplanned “sneaky” calories can be taken care of after the fact. This is called “reactive damage control.” Use one of the following workouts to reduce the potential damage to your waistline.

The Eggnog Eater
One eight-ounce glass of regular eggnog contains approximately 340 calories. You must run or walk over three miles on level ground to burn off one serving of eggnog. This knowledge alone may convince you to go easy on the eggnog. If you can’t resist this holiday treat, here’s a hill workout that will quickly burn off one eight-ounce serving of the delicious brew.

Set your treadmill elevation at two percent and run at your easy pace for 1/2 mile. Increase the elevation to four percent and run for 1/2 mile. Then increase the elevation to six percent and run for another 1/2 mile at an easy pace. Now decrease the elevation to two percent and run for 1/2 mile at one minute per mile faster than your normal easy pace. Cool down with 1/4 mile at an easy pace.
Workout Distance— 2.25 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 340 Calories

Pumpkin Pie Destroyer
This is a holiday food we just can’t resist. But, try to limit yourself to one piece. A typical slice of pumpkin pie contains about 320 calories. That means three miles of running to burn this snack off. This workout incorporates a long, moderate hill run to cut down on the mileage required to burn off the pie.
Set your treadmill elevation at two percent and run at your easy pace for 1/2 mile. Now increase the elevation to five percent and run for 1.25 miles. Decrease the elevation to two percent and run for 1/4 mile to cool down.
Workout Distance— 2 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 325

Leftover Gobbler
Is there anyone out there who doesn’t raid the refrigerator for a leftover turkey sandwich? It’s a holiday tradition. A turkey sandwich containing three ounces of roast turkey and two slices of whole wheat bread has around 335 calories. That’s assuming you don’t add any butter, margarine or mayonnaise. One tablespoon of margarine or mayo will add about 100 calories or one more mile of running to your grand total. Use this simple workout to rid yourself of these leftover calories.
Set your treadmill elevation at two percent. Run at your normal easy run pace for three miles.
Workout Distance— 3 miles
Approximate Calories Burned— 330

Sometimes knowing the calorie content in a food isn’t enough of a deterrent to keep us from eating them. Learning how much we must exercise to burn them off can have more of an effect. Here’s the distance you must run to burn off some popular holiday fares.

- Eight ounces of eggnog – 3.25 miles
- Three ounces of turkey – 1.25 miles
- One slice of pumpkin pie – 3 miles
- One slice of apple pie – 3.75 miles
- One slice of pecan pie – 6 miles
- Three ounces of roast beef – 3 miles
- One cup of mashed potatoes – 3 miles
- One cup of baked sweet potatoes – 2.5 miles
- One cup of bread stuffing – 4 miles
- Two rolls with butter – 3 miles
- One cup of gravy – 2 miles
- One cup of canned cranberry sauce – 4 miles
- One cup of string beans – 1/3 mile
- One cup of carrots – 1/5 mile

 

*This article was originally published in the December 2005 issue of FitnessRx for Women magazine