The danger of indulging on special occasions

(Charles Stuart Platkin) - We all have those special occasions — birthdays, family dinners, parties, weddings, retirement dinners and even just weekends — that we use as excuses to overeat.

According to Amy Gorin, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School, one of the primary predictors of weight gain or maintenance is dietary consistency. "Those who maintain the same diet regimen across the week and year are more likely to maintain their weight loss over the following year than those who diet more strictly on weekdays and/or during nonholiday periods."

If you're wondering whether overeating "just this once" really has any effect on your weight, numbers don't lie. I made up my own roster of "special days," and the total came to about 50 per year.

If I ate 500 extra calories on those days (one piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream), that would be about 25,000 calories, or more than 7 pounds a year!

Here are tips to avoid gaining weight from all of those "Extra Ordinary Eating" events.

All or nothing

I don't know how many times I've heard someone say: "I've already ruined my diet, so it doesn't matter what I eat now!" The bottom line is that an extra calorie is an extra calorie — so having a slice of birthday cake doesn't (or shouldn't) give you the excuse to eat two more.

Haven't you ever heard of cutting your losses? Well, here it's the opposite: You're cutting your gains.

Strategize

You may think planning what you're going to eat beforehand takes the fun and spontaneity out of the occasion, but that's just not so. Think about what and how much you're going to eat at the event before you even get there — set limits and you'll feel better.

For instance, if you know there is going to be cake and ice cream, and you typically have two or sometimes three servings, mentally rehearse having only one serving of each.

Is it worth it?

We tend to eat unconsciously at these events — shoving food in our mouths without even thinking. So be aware of what you're eating and make sure it tastes great. If the birthday cake or apple pie is not up to par — don't eat it.

Instead of "waste not, want not," try to adopt a "want not, waist not" mentality. In other words, if you don't really want it, don't let it go to your waist.

Read more...