The Holidays and Weight Gain
Do people really gain weight during the holidays (November-January)? I’ve often wondered this fact.
Most of us talk about over indulgence during the holidays but do those extra treats actually add up to weight gain?
An interesting study from 2000 took up this question. Researchers found that on average, people gained around .37kg (.82 lb) during the holiday period.
Not a whole lot right? The most interesting fact was that this weight gain was not reversed during the following spring or summer months.
In other words, people don’t gain all that much weight during the holidays, but in general the weight they gain never comes off.
Year after year, it’s that small holiday weight creep that often lands people in a range they’re unhappy with.
So what do you do during the holiday months if you’re not wanting to put on extra weight?
In my mind, the solution is not to have less fun or abstain from everything wonderful to eat.
The better option is to evaluate exactly where you’re at when the dust settles after New Year’s, then turn the screws and get back to your “pre-holiday” weight (assuming this is where you want to be).
This year a good postmortem date is Sunday, January 6. Get on the scale, survey the damage, and put a plan in place to turn back the clock.
You can have your cake and eat it too, as long as you’re willing to exercise some discipline after the partying is over.
Low Carb Training
In our latest post on the blog we take an in-depth look at low carb training. To head directly to the post please click here.
If you’re short on time here are a few of the highlights.
- A “high carb” approach to fueling your rides is still the evidence based choice for maximizing performance.
- Recent research suggests there may be a performance advantage to strategically restricting carbs on specific rides/during specific training periods.
- The practice of planning different periods of training with higher or lower carb availability is called “periodized nutrition”.
- Low carb training comes at a cost. Make sure you’re aware of these costs before experimenting.
- If you do experiment with a low carb training strategy, don’t lose sight of the necessity of carbs to fuel your highest quality training and racing.
Dig into more depth on low carb training by heading over to our site for the full post.
Wishing you a great holiday season and a Happy New Year!
Nate Dunn
Founder/Head Coach
Data Driven Athlete