The “Holiday 7,” the title given for the average amount of weight gain experienced during the winter holidays, keeps popping up in articles.
Is this statement true? Do people gain 7 pounds during the holiday season? Well, this isn’t true for everyone, but the “Holiday 7” is very close to reality for many adults.
The Holiday 7
Most people gain less than one pound during the 6-week period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, report researchers. And this is much less than the suggested 7 pounds that’s being tossed around in fitness magazines. However, the research does show that overweight individuals typically gain 5 pounds during the holidays, (Holiday weight gain: fact or fiction?” 2000, Roberts).
This study should be a real concern for those who are overweight. While it’s not quite as bad as the “Holiday 7,” gaining 5 pounds every year during the holidays means 50 additional pounds over the next ten years unless a fitness improvement action plan is implemented.
Metabolic Syndrome X - The real culprit in holiday weight gain
Researchers report that 40 million US adults suffer with “Metabolic Syndrome X.” This is the worst nightmare for someone overweight or obese, especially during the holiday season, (A major health hazard: the metabolic syndrome, 2003, Isomaa).
While the “Holiday 7” is not quite as bad for most people, small gains in bodyfat over time can contribute to the condition “Metabolic Syndrome.”
Metabolic Syndrome has to do with how the body acts as it puts on extra bodyfat. After-the-holidays starvation diets may temporarily pull off a few pounds; but these diets without exercise can make matters worse.
Symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome are extra bodyfat around the waist, higher cholesterol, and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means that someone with a lot of bodyfat can eat bread for example, and their body processes it like pecan pie. This is why someone lean and in shape can eat some traditional holiday meals without too much concern, and someone overweight will gain 5 pounds during the holidays.
Metabolic Syndrome X was first defined on May 15, 2001 by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults
The Best part…
there’s a free cure for Metabolic Syndrome
Extra bodyfat is at the center of this disease, and for most people, there’s a simple cure. The cure for Metabolic Syndrome is not going on the current fad starvation diet, which actually tricks the body into adding more bodyfat. The cure is to consume a consistent, balanced diet - in moderation, and most importantly, adopt a real commitment to exercise regularly.
Individuals should add exercise to build and tone muscle that will raise their resting metabolic rate. This allows the muscle, in essence, to work away on the bodyfat while you’re resting. This process works like an interest barring savings account.
Men and women clearly need to exercise to tone add build muscle. Walking and increasing activity levels is a great place to start. But lower intensity forms of exercise will not get the best results.
Strength training the large muscle groups at least once a week and adding an anaerobic exercise program (sprinting types of concentrated cardio exercise) to make the body produce exercise-induced growth hormone will get results. Researchers show that exercise-induced growth hormone will significantly increase bodyfat burning and enhance the muscle toning and building process. (Impact of acute exercise intensity on pulsatile growth hormone release in men, 1999, Pritzlaff).
“Muscular strength and cardiorespiratory fitness have independent and joint inverse associations with metabolic syndrome prevalence.” (Associations of muscle strength and fitness with metabolic syndrome in men. Jurca R, Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Aug)
Anaerobic exercise is the key
Anaerobic exercise is not in opposition to cardio. In fact, it can be performed on many types of cardio equipment. Anaerobic sprinting is simply fast, high-intensity cardio performed in very short bursts with an active recovery (equal to casual walking for 1½ minutes) between the sprints.
Look at the difference between Olympic sprinters verses Olympic long distance runners. Sprinters perform anaerobic sprinting and they end up with lots of muscle and low bodyfat. Olympic marathoners end up with low bodyfat and low muscle (which is desirable for long distance runners because they don't want to carry the additional weight for 26 miles). So it’s important to examine your training goals. If you want the lean and mean sprinter’s physique, well, it's pretty simple, do what sprinters do... ..anaerobic sprinting exercise.
Don't worry, this form of training will not make women look like men, but it will cut bodyfat and tone muscle in women like no other form of exercise.
The anaerobic training program recommended to increase exercise-induced growth hormone in my book, Ready Set Go Synergy Fitness, is the Sprint 8 Workout. It can be performed the in many different ways - running, swimming, cycling, XC skiing, even power walking (if it gets you really winded in 30 seconds or less).
One of my favorite ways to get in a 20-minute Sprint 8 workout is on a Vision Fitness piece of cardio equipment (www.visionfitness.com), which now has my "Sprint 8" program featured on their award winning cardio equipment. Just push the “Sprint 8” button, set the intensity level to 1-16 for a 20-minute workout that actually has 16 minutes of active recovery (casual easy exercise equal to slow pace walking) and 4 minutes of anaerobic training that are programmed in 8 30-second bursts.
Make the commitment today to add strength training and an anaerobic Sprint 8 program to your fitness plan and enjoy meals this holiday season … in moderation, of course.
Phil Campbell. M.S., M.A., FACHE is the author of Ready, Set, Go! Synergy Fitness<<a href="http://www.readysetgofitness.com/">http://www.readysetgofitness.com/>
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“Everyone has a fitness plan. Whether your plan is to exercise regularly or not at all, you still have a fitness plan. Youth alone takes care of many health issues, but there comes a time when every individual must make a lifestyle decision to exercise regularly or not to exercise and accept the ramifications.” Phil Campbell
National Institutes of Health studies summaries cited:
Holiday weight gain:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11206847&dopt=Abstract
Metabolic Syndrome
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12954449&dopt=Abstract
Exercise-induced growth hormone release
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10444604&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12797841&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10961960&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12711737&dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11893790&dopt=Abstract
Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health by William Davis MD
Phil Campbell M.S., M.A., FACHEPhil Campbell holds two advanced degrees and is board certified by ACHE.
Using his master degree training in Health Services, and his 20 years of experience in hospital administration--where it was his responsibility to take the medical disciplines of surgery, pathology, radiology, pediatrics, pharmacology, physical therapy, rehabilitation, medicine and other health disciplines and operationalize medical services into a healthcare delivery system that would help and improve the lives of others - he applies his training and experience in the development of Ready Set Go! Synergy Fitness.
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