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> Hints > Past Newsletter Editions > Articles > Fighting Festive Flab

Fighting Festive Flab

One of the things I love about this time of year is those once-a-year rituals; putting up the Christmas tree, watching the fairly lights twinkling, driving 'round the suburbs on balmy summer evenings to see who has the most outrageous Christmas lights.

All of these end-of-year rituals entice me into reflecting on everything that's happened over the past year and all that I've done. When I compare my life at any particular festive season to the way things were a year ago, I almost always feel pleased.

So in celebration of December and the end of 2009, I'd like to invite you to think back over all that you've done this year, particularly the things that you've done for your health.

Maybe you started listening to your body and honoring what it tells you about what, when and how much to eat, and now you rarely eat until you feel uncomfortably full.

Maybe you decided to eat a more nutritious diet, and now if you went for more than 24 hours without eating any vegetables and fruits you'd crave them big time.

Maybe - like me - you decided to step up your physical activity levels and improve your physical fitness, and you're now fitter and more active than you were a year ago.

No matter what healthy lifestyle changes you may have implemented since last December, if you've been plugging away at them over the year you'll be reaping the benefits now.

They may not be flamboyantly obvious benefits such as reaching your ideal weight or being able to run a marathon, but if you've been focusing on living well the benefits will be there nonetheless.

Maybe you've dropped a dress size, reduced your blood pressure, or gained a couple of kilos of precious muscle that will help keep you healthy and able for decades to come. Or maybe you've maintained your weight, which in itself is a commendable achievement given that adults on average gain about a kilo a year.

The festive season, however, is a time when many people undo all the efforts they've achieved over the year, and come New Year's Day they're resolving to do it all again.

Can you give yourself 50 minutes a week?

Would you like to know how you can prevent your girth from expanding this festive season? A study published last month in the international journal Obesity suggests that you can achieve it in a time commitment of just 50 minutes per week.

This study followed over 200 women in the year after they'd lost an average of 12 kilos by diet plus exercise. The women were randomly divided into three groups.

All three groups participated in a yearlong weight management program consisting of monthly group meetings with discussion about healthy diet and exercise.

In addition to this program, the first group of women was scheduled to do two 40-50-minute sessions of aerobic training per week, under the supervision of an exercise physiologist.

The second group of women - in addition to their monthly meeting - was scheduled to do two 40-minute sessions of strength training per week, also under the supervision of an exercise physiologist. The strength training session included a circuit of 11 exercises such as squats and sit-ups.

The third group of women was not scheduled to do any structured exercise, but they received general instructions about the importance of regular physical activity for weight management at their monthly meetings.

At the end of the year, differences among groups of women were clearly apparent. While this was to be expected, nobody suspected just how great the differences would be, nor how little time it would take to achieve those differences.

Some women in the study showed a 50% increase in the amount of fat they carried around their midriff (intra-abdominal adipose tissue). This fat sits around organs such as the liver and pancreas and contributes to metabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

On the other hand, some women in the study showed absolutely no gain in intra-abdominal adipose tissue in the year after they'd lost weight.

Can you guess which women they were?

No, they weren't the women who talked about the importance of exercise at their monthly group sessions.

Nor were they the women who were assigned to do aerobic or strength training twice a week.

Indeed, the women who totally escaped belly fat regain in the year after they'd lost weight were the women who actually exercised.

It didn't matter whether they did aerobic or strength training, the thing that determined whether or not they kept belly fat at bay was whether or not they actually did the exercise sessions...or at least some of them. In fact, women who did at least 5 of the 8 training sessions they'd been assigned per month (an average of just 48-60 minutes of supervised aerobic or strength training per week) showed the benefit of zero belly fat gain.

Put in everyday terms, that's equivalent to something like going to the gym and doing a 30 minute strength-training circuit twice a week. Or doing a 30-minute gym circuit and pounding out some lengths in the pool for 30 minutes a week. Or going for a vigorous run-walk for 30 minutes once a week and doing two 15-minute strength training sessions at home. In other words, not a lot.

While it's not clear how much physical activity the women in this study did besides the supervised aerobic or strength training sessions, it's known that preventing overall weight regain (not just belly fat regain) takes more than just 50 minutes of exercise per week. It's more like 60 minutes of walking (or 8,000 to 12,000 steps) per day.

However, if you start by accumulating just 50 minutes of exercise throughout the week, such as fast walking that makes you huff and puff or doing some push ups or sit ups, you can already keep the most dangerous fat - intra-abdominal fat - off your body.

Over to you

Here's something you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

It's December, and things are about to get messy. This is the time of the year when your peaceful routine of self-care may be at risk of going belly-up.

Maybe your house will be filled with kids from sun up to sun down, whereas normally they'd be at school so you can plan, shop for and prepare nutritious meals.

Maybe you'll be surrounded with far greater access to rich foods and drinks than you normally would, making it harder to eat only when you're hungry.

Or maybe you'll be traveling or entertaining house guests, in either case popping out to get some exercise may be that much more of a challenge than usual.

In all this festive folly, what if you decided to put yourself and your health first?

Instead of feeling like you have to pay a social visit to everyone you haven't seen since last year, what if you took the time to take care of yourself properly first, then visit your friends and family with whatever time you have left over?

Instead of feeling like you have to have your 'happy face' constantly turned on in back-to-back social interactions, what if you took time out to be with yourself so you can stay focused on things that are important to you, such as eating well and being active?

Remember, if you give yourself just 50 minutes a week to do activities that push you physically (such as a breathy run-walk or trying a small hand of my new FitDeck playing cards), you'll be well on your way to preventing fat gain around your midriff this festive season. Instead of feeling awful about an expanding girth, you'll have real reason to have your happy face on.

Oh, and one more thing. If you find ways to remain focused on your health and well being goals over the next month, please may I ask you to click 'reply' and tell me how the hell you do it?

I'm about to embark on an epic journey on my own with our children, aged 7 and 4, to be a house guest at my Mum's place in Perth for a whole month. My routines are about to go belly-up, and I need all the help I can get!

Have a great month, and if you'd like to take advantage of my Special December Offer for a gift of health for yourself or someone you care for, click here.

Sincerely,

Amanda

Dr Amanda
Connect with your body
www.DrAmandaOnline.com