HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Before Thanksgiving our Weight Watcher leader tells us that the average American gains 8 pounds over the holidays…Thanksgiving through New Years. I am not too sure that the data is accurate. I have looked at a variety of articles and research and the range seems to be as low as + 2 pounds and as high as + 8 pounds, with + 5 pounds the consensus. Then the question was asked if we would be happy to make it through the holiday and have a zero net gain?

The reality is that most people don’t realize how much they eat everyday of their lives regardless of the holidays. One of my previous favorite places to eat lunch is a catfish restaurant here in Austin. After starting Weight Watchers I decided to write down my normal lunch and calculate the Points. (You can click on the Weight Watcher’s link on my site to learn more about Points). When it was all said and done my normal catfish lunch was 68 points. My current DAILY POINT goal right now is 65 points. It is no wonder that in August 2009 I weighed 418 pounds, when I was consuming more than twice the normal daily calories needed for a person in one meal.

So who knows how many pounds the average American gains over the holidays? All I know is that with the minus 4.8 pounds this week, I overcame the previous week’s 3 pound gain and ended the holiday season with a net loss of 6.4 pounds.  I call that progress and a lifestyle change.

Now with the New Year ahead of me I am more determined to continue living healthier for the rest of my life. I see another 10 kilometer walk in my future. 

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