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There is a good explanation for why we overeat Christmas food. If we understand that, it is easier to avoid.
Every year from November to December, obesity experts and nutritionists come with the same warning:
Don’t start the Christmas party already on December 1st.
Obesity expert Jøran Hjelmesæth, professor at the University of Oslo and director of the Center for Morbid Obesity in South-Eastern Health at Vestfold Hospital, regularly dispels the myth that “the most important thing is not what you do between Christmas and New Years , but between New Years and Christmas »:
– What we see is that adults usually go to bed during vacations. The Christmas celebration begins in early December and lasts until early January. Many people gain about a kilo each year, and over the years it becomes many kilos.
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If you lose the kilos too long, your body will get used to your new weight. If you then lose weight again, your body remembers the highest weight it ever had and tries to gain the weight back.
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- The main reason more and more people are struggling with obesity and being overweight is not a lack of willpower or too little exercise, but rather that those who are genetically predisposed to developing obesity now have greater access to rich foods and drinks in calories. While access to food was limited in the past, many now live in abundance. In addition, society facilitates growth by offering high-calorie foods and beverages for cheap money.
- Many gain weight throughout their lives, meaning they weigh more in their 50s than they do at 25. This has often happened gradually, perhaps only gaining a pound a year. Research shows that these pounds are often carried over during vacations and vacations such as Christmas / New Years, Easter, and summer vacations.
- It is easier and more comfortable to gain weight than to lose weight. Studies show that many people struggle to lose weight on vacation and instead accept that the weight is slowly but surely increasing.
- Those who ultimately decide to gain weight and lose weight will often succeed. But because the body wants to maintain the highest weight it has ever been, it quickly enters rest mode and initiates a series of mechanisms to regain weight. Therefore, a person who has lost weight should consume between 300 and 500 calories less per day than a person who has not lost weight, even if they weigh the same. The person must do this for the rest of his life, otherwise the body handles the weight up again, kilo by kilo.
- Research shows that very few people with obesity have managed to maintain weight after weight loss. Among those seeking professional weight loss help, only one in six manages to maintain the weight. Among those who manage to lose weight, about 30-35 percent of the weight loss returns after one year.
This year, the concern is different. Because the holidays have failed during the covid-19 regime, but the home office, the closed gym and the constant price cuts on sweets and snacks make experts uneasy.
– Grocery stores reported that sugary items doubled in March 2020. Some sold as much candy during the week as they normally do on Saturdays, says clinical nutritionist Tine Meljbo Sundfør, continuing:
– And now comes Christmas too. So it’s clear that we’re going to have fun, but that doesn’t mean you have to eat until you lie down and writhe in pain. Because then suddenly it’s not very cozy anymore!
This is why you overeat
Most of us Norwegians have memories of Christmas Eve where we do just this: overeat until we feel sick and hurt.
– Basically, you should treat yourself to an extra meal at Christmas. It is a Norwegian tradition in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where many did not have enough food. At that time, people may not eat fully full every day, but when Christmas rolled around, they allowed themselves to eat more, Sundfør says.
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But in 2020, many people are eating their fill every day, and then the old Christmas tradition seems more like gluttony than “indulging in a little more.”
– But few people like to overeat, so why do we do it?
– Our feeling of fullness is controlled by hormones and nerve signals, but also by the reward center in the brain, which only seeks pleasure. When we eat fatty foods and carbohydrates, the brain secretes dopamine and stimulates our nerve pathways so that we feel relaxed and well. This feeling our brain remembers and wants more, explains Sundfør.
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Fatty food also has another weakness, namely that it delays the satiety response.
– When there is a lot of fat in food, it takes longer to empty from the stomach into the intestines. And the feeling of fullness only comes when food reaches the small intestine, because then hormones are secreted that tell the brain that we are full. That answer comes later when we eat fatty foods, making it easier to overeat.
How many extra kilos?
Some of the Christmas food is lean and healthy, such as seafood, roast beef, ham, and other pure meats.
At the same time, we eat high-fat meats such as ribs, chops, medister sponge cake, and sausages, and enjoy more with alcoholic beverages, Christmas cakes, and sweets.
– Fat contains twice as many kilocalories per 100 grams as protein and carbohydrates. Also, alcohol or sugary sodas are not saturated, so these calories add to your food intake.
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The online newspaper has previously asked nutrition experts how much they think it is possible to wear during the Christmas holidays, given that you enjoy the most of what you get from food and drink from Christmas Eve until the first day of New Years. , without moving much more. than walking calmly from the sofa to the kitchen table.
About a kilo, was the answer, with the important condition that it will vary from person to person.
– I have patients who are struggling with overweight and obesity, who have experienced gaining up to five kilos during the Christmas holidays. If you’ve just lost weight and indulge in a lot of fatty foods and sugary drinks, you’re more vulnerable to weight gain, says Sundfør.
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However, there is a big difference in the caloric content of different Christmas dishes. We have made an approximate summary of the caloric content of the four most common Christmas dinners:
Tips to limit your calorie intake
Sundfør doesn’t care about Christmas Eve and the first day of Christmas. The vast majority can endure a few days of Christmas gluttony.
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But to prevent you from gaining weight and tightening your jeans when you have to go back to work during the holidays, she has the following tips:
- Eat slowly and enjoy your food.
- Choose pure meat, fish, and seafood.
- Avoid eating too much between meals.
- Drop the foods you might otherwise eat, like potato salad and buttered bread, and choose what you wouldn’t eat otherwise.
- Set out fruit trays after dinner.
- Drink water to quench your thirst and let alcohol and soda be something you drink because you enjoy it.
- Enter physical activity.
- Don’t have a bad conscience for eating a little more.
The last point may seem a bit strange, but it is actually very important. Especially those who have lost weight are vulnerable to this mindset, says Sundfør.
– Bad conscience often leads to eating more. If you eat more than you had planned, a lot of people think that “well, now I’ve crossed the border anyway, so now everything is screwed up anyway”, and then they eat even more, says Sunfør, and concludes:
– If a little extra dinner and some Christmas cakes are provided, that’s fine. Better have fun and leave it at that.
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