Do You Really Gain 5 to 10 Pounds During the Holidays...

THE FACTS...It starts with the Halloween candy that stays around for weeks. Then there is holiday parties in Nov and early December, and eventually Christmas and New Years with, not to mention, all that extra time on the couch.

With all the opportunities to gorge and laze around over the holidays, it is little surprise that conventional wisdom suggests that the average person will pack on at least five pounds this season.

In reality, though, studies show that most people will gain far less. The only problem is that the holidays probably account for much of a person’s annual weight gain. 

According to most studies on the subject, the average person gains one to two pounds from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. One of the most recent and thorough studies to examine the idea, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2000, followed a diverse group of about 200 adults, half men.

The researchers found that from early October to late February the subjects gained an average of 1.05 pounds, 75 percent of that from Thanksgiving to Jan. 1

Those who were the most active had the least gain, and those who were already overweight gained the most.

But only 10 percent of people gained more than five pounds. Another study carried out at Tufts had similar results.

A pound does not sound like much. BUT because a typical adult gains one to two pounds a year, the holiday pound has significant long-term effects.

THE TAKEAWAY... Even if you only gain 1-2lbs during this time of year the compound effect of doing this for 5-10 years in a row adds up to be anywhere from 10 to 40 extra lbs of fat that your body clearly doesn't need as you age.... we call it the creepy obesity....where it sneaks up on you 1-2-3lbs a year every year for a decade. 

Don't be a stat and lets head into 2026 a little leaner, a littler stronger, and a little healthier instead of a little heavier like most folks will be. 

If you are not ready to commit to a program that caters to your life's demands, then get inside the Lift Yourself LEAN FB group where I go live each week with a tip or pep talk, post challenges to keep you strong and get first dibs on any new programs to uplevel your current health and fitness.

And like the saying goes "there is no time like the present" and ready to start the holidays with a clear, non-restrictive plan that lets you have your favourite holiday treats and gets you set up to cruse through the holidays vs suffer in guilt and shame come Jan1, then APPLY here.

Cheering you on each day my friends