Stay on Track this Holiday Season: The JCC's Susanna Pier Shares Her Holiday Survival Guide

By Andrea Scarberry

Sticking to a solid routine during the holiday season can be tough - there is extra shopping and planning, gatherings with family and friends, and of course, a plethora of delicious and tempting eats and treats. It's no wonder that so many of us struggle with our fitness and nutrition goals over the course of the holidays! Here to help is the JCC's own Susanna Pier.

As the JCC's Director of Fitness and Wellness, Susanna holds a bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and a two-year post bachelor's in Physical Education. She is an NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Level 1 USA track and field coach. She is originally from Finland, and came to the U.S. to attend college on a full track scholarship through the University of New Mexico, where she competed in Heptathlon & Triple Jump. Fast forward to the present: Susanna knows a thing or two about the stresses of the holidays. As a busy working mother of three little ones with a passion for fitness and staying in shape, she has some great words of advice as to how your health and fitness goals can "survive," and even thrive, this holiday season.

Question: There is a lot of buzz out there about holiday weight gain. Does the average person really gain over the holidays, and if so, is it significant?

Susanna: There is a lot of information circulating on this topic, but from the actual studies that I looked at, the average American gains 1-5 lbs. between Thanksgiving and New Years, and those that are overweight typically gain an additional 5-6 lbs. during that time frame. I think you could probably assume that Halloween plays a role in those numbers, too, with all the treats consumed during the month of October and beyond. Now, you look at those weight gain numbers and say, "What's the big deal?" One or two pounds - who cares, right? Well, when the number one goal in the new year is inevitably to "lose weight," that's one or two extra pounds people are adding to a number of pounds they already wanted to get rid of, so it does add up. I was also surprised to learn that most people that do gain over the holidays don't typically end up dropping those extra pounds, which isn't a huge deal in the short term, but think about how that adds up over the course of 20 or 30 years if the same patterns recur year after year.

The information surrounding holiday weight gain is pretty clear: it's common, and many times those pounds stick with us for the long haul. Here are some tips that Susanna has compiled to help you avoid falling victim to holiday weight gain this year.

Don't focus on losing weight. May sound counter-productive, right? Well, during the holiday season, it's not! The holidays are stressful for many as it is - it's not worth obsessing over the number on the scale. Instead, aim to maintain your current weight, which can be easily achieved by keeping up with regularly scheduled workouts and possibly adding one extra workout per week to account for the holiday treats you'll most likely be indulging in.

Enjoy treats, but don't over-indulge. The holidays bring with them lots of goodies. If you enjoy the gravies, breads, cookies and pies, don't deprive yourself! Allow yourself to enjoy all the things you love about the holidays, even the food - Just don't go overboard. Some great tips to avoid over-indulgence of sweets and treats:

• Don't go to a party starving. Eat something healthy before you leave the house so that you're satisfied but not stuffed. That way you can still nibble on the things that look good at the party without overdoing it on all the calorie-ridden dishes.
• Drink more water. A study regarding water consumption showed that people who drank two cups of water before each meal but didn't make any other changes to diet or lifestyle lost an average of 40% more weight than those who didn't drink the water before a meal. Water helps to fill you up, and staying well hydrated keeps your hunger sensors (and everything else!) working properly. It is recommended that we drink 1/2 of our body weight in ounces of water each day, so grab your favorite cup and drink up!
• Focus on the holiday, not the food. At a holiday gathering, sure there's always food, but there is also usually family or friends, decorations, and much more to enjoy. Instead of hovering near the goodies all night, try to soak up your surroundings and enjoy conversations with those you love - you might just find that chatting with Grandma was a lot more important and enjoyable than that fourth cookie you could have eaten.
• Utilize your freezer. Inevitably, throughout the course of the holidays we tend to accumulate a mountain of goodies at home. Chocolates from co-workers, cookies from neighbors, your aunt's famous fudge... it all adds up. Don't feel like you have to eat it all over the course of a week, or even worse - throw it away! Wrap things in individual portions and stick them in the freezer. That way, when you're craving something sweet, you can pull out a small treat and enjoy it without going overboard. Added bonus: that awesome fudge might just last you through the end of February!

 As for getting the most out of your workouts, Susanna has some tried and true advice in that department as well. "Losing weight (or maintaining over the holidays) is not all about the cardio. People are easily fooled by the 'fat-burning mode' on cardio machines. You're actually more likely to burn more calories by doing a shorter and more intense form of cardio than many of the weight-loss modes on machines have to offer. It's also so important not to write off the importance of strength training. Muscle is metabolically active tissue, which means that it helps our metabolism - so the more muscle you have, the harder your metabolism is going to work for you," Susanna says.

Susanna left me with one last piece of advice: "Most people have the 'diet starts tomorrow' mindset when it comes to losing weight. Completely blowing off your health and fitness goals over the next couple of months will make January's resolutions that much harder to achieve, so don't wait! Start now."

With Susanna's tips for staying on track this over the holidays, we hope that you are as prepared as you can be to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle over the next couple of months. If you'd like to kick up your fitness routine an extra notch this holiday season, there are more ways than one to get involved! If you are interested in working with Susanna, please see the membership office and get some one-on-one personal training with one of the best. We are also offering a trainer-led "Holiday Survival Bootcamp," coming at the end of November. To build on these goals into the new year, keep an eye out for additional fitness programming, including a fun new contest in our group fitness department called "Project Maintain," and in February, our ever-popular trainer-led "Skinny Jeans Challenge."

Thank you for reading, and have a happy and healthy week ahead!