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12 ideas to keep off holiday pounds
AP on Yahoo ^ | 12/24/06 | Marilynn Marchione - ap

Posted on 12/24/2006 2:21:06 PM PST by NormsRevenge

Three French pastries ... two turtle cheesecakes ... and a partridge in a pear sauce.

The Twelve Days of Christmas bring holiday foods meant to be enjoyed, but no one wants a weight problem when they end Jan. 5, the day Catholics mark the Epiphany, when the three kings were to have brought gifts for the baby Jesus.

Food psychologist Brian Wansink has had an epiphany of his own about how such problems happen. His new book, "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think," explores the unconscious cues that make us feast as we do, and how we can keep them from manipulating us.

Nearly all of his suggestions are based on published results of scientific studies he has conducted as director of Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab.

Here are 12 of his tips, one for each day of the season:

• Put high-calorie foods on plates in the kitchen and leave leftovers there. You'll eat 15 percent to 20 percent less. Do not serve "fat-family" style (from a big platter or bowl that is passed) unless it's veggies or salad.

• See it before you eat it. Dishing out Chex Mix led one group to consume 134 fewer calories than others who ate straight from the bag.

• Keep the evidence on the table — turkey bones, muffin papers, candy wrappers. Diners in one study ate 30 percent more chicken wings when the bones were periodically cleared away than others whose bones stayed in front of them.

• Bank calories. Skip the appetizers if you know you want dessert. You also will be more accurate at estimating how many calories you consume.

• Sit next to the slowest eater at the table and use that person to pace yourself. Always be the last one to start eating, and set your fork down after every bite.

• Embrace comfort food. Don't avoid the food you really want, but have it in a smaller portion.

• Avoid having too many foods on the table. The more variety, the more people will eat. People ate 85 percent more M&Ms when they were offered in nine colors rather than seven.

• Keep your distance. To reduce the mindless snatch and grab, move more than arms length away from the buffet tables and snack bowls.

• For foods that are not good for you, think "back." Put them in the back of the cupboard, the back of the refrigerator, the back of the freezer. Keep them wrapped in aluminum foil. Office workers ate 23 percent less candy when it was in a white, covered candy dish than in a see-through one.

• Use small bowls. A study found that people serving themselves from smaller bowls ate 59 percent less.

• Use tall, narrow glasses for drinks. Even experienced bartenders poured more into short, squat glasses than into skinny ones.

• Don't multitask. People tend to unconsciously consume more when distracted by conversation or a game on TV. Setting your fork down and giving the conversation your full attention will prevent overeating.

"We don't know exactly how many calories, but chances are you'll enjoy it more," Wansink said. "And people will enjoy you more."

___

On the Net:

Food and Brand Lab: http://www.foodpsychology.cornell.edu


TOPICS: Food; Health/Medicine; Society
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 12/24/2006 2:21:07 PM PST by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge

**FILE PHOTO** Freshly baked zimtsterne, the cinnamon star cookies that are a German tradition for Christmas, are piled on a plate in Bedford Hills, N.Y., Dec. 1, 2003. (AP Photo/Karen Vibert-Kennedy)


2 posted on 12/24/2006 2:21:44 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ...... Merry Something PC.)
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article is also titled elsewhere

Tips for staying trim over holidays


3 posted on 12/24/2006 2:22:24 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ...... Merry Something PC.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Bring It On!!!


4 posted on 12/24/2006 2:22:57 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ...... Merry Something PC.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Step away from the turkey and nobody gets fat.


5 posted on 12/24/2006 2:28:18 PM PST by cripplecreek (Peace without victory is a temporary illusion.)
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To: NormsRevenge
" Sit next to the slowest eater at the table and use that person to pace yourself. Always be the last one to start eating, and set your fork down after every bite. "
Once it was formulated that people are divided by nature into fast eaters and slow eaters. The fast eaters never advance in life beyond junior officer ranks and their civilian equivalents, while slow eaters go much higher. The same division persisted regarding excretion, where it had nothing to do with the states of diarrhea and constipation.
6 posted on 12/24/2006 2:30:26 PM PST by GSlob
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To: NormsRevenge
..
7 posted on 12/24/2006 2:31:08 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ...... Don we now our gay apparel ... faalaalaalaalaa laa laa laa laa)
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To: NormsRevenge

Hmmmmmm..... zimtsterne....


Mrs. Slim finished a big batch of Springerlie cookies this AM. They're really tough to get right at 7500' altitude.

As far as these suggestions... I think I'll do the opposite.


8 posted on 12/24/2006 2:33:57 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: NormsRevenge

I say there should be no calorie counting on holidays! Who's with me?

Xcuse me for posting with my mouth full (burp)!

Merry Christmas to all!


9 posted on 12/24/2006 3:04:13 PM PST by Theresawithanh (I'm Time's Person of the Year - and mom said I'd never amount to anything!)
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To: NormsRevenge; All

Saw this on yahoo yesterday:

By KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer Thu Dec 21, 7:41 PM ET

MIAMI - Oh, those holiday pitfalls: a martini and a handful of Chex mix at the office party, Grandma's fruitcake, the plate of gingerbread cookies from your neighbor. Eating all those goodies will definitely cost you.


To burn off the calories in one gingerbread cookie, you will have to swim 18 minutes. The martini and party mix will take 47 minutes on the bike.

And the fruitcake? Take an 84-minute walk.

Those are the calculations in a new book that lists the calorie content of 7,500 foods and tells you just how long it will take to work it off.

"Most of us have no idea what a calorie is worth," said Charles Stuart Platkin, author of "The Diet Detective's Count Down" and other books.

Platkin, a Miami-based public health advocate, spent nearly a year compiling the list, which includes fast-food dishes, popular restaurant menu fare and most grocery items. The exercise calculations are for a 155-pound person; add time if you're lighter, subtract time if you're heavier.

Some of the numbers are downright depressing.

A half-pound of prime rib will cost you 230 minutes of yoga. A Starbucks Caramel Macchiato is 38 minutes on the bike — add 81 minutes if you grab a piece of coffee cake. You'll have to walk 173 minutes to burn off a Whopper from Burger King.

Platkin, 44, said it is like money: Once diners know a food's caloric value, they can weigh in their mind whether it is "splurge worthy."

Some of the biggest food rip-offs include crackers, at 12 to 20 calories apiece, and premium ice creams, Platkin said. It will take 72 minutes to walk off a half-cup of Ben and Jerry's Butter Pecan, versus 31 minutes for Edy's Slow Churned Light version of the same flavor. Predictably, fruits and veggies provided the best bargains.

The holidays are one of the trickiest seasons for dieters. Research shows people tend to gain just under a pound during the holidays. It only takes an extra hundred calories a day (five Ritz crackers) over the holiday season to gain a pound. And they don't typically lose it by spring.

"People tend to relax their guard and let themselves go during the holidays. And there's also more food around so we also consume more," said Platkin, who became his own diet detective after losing 50 pounds 14 years ago.

The book could come in especially handy for nibblers.

"Nibblers tend to be worse estimators because they feel like they're not eating anything — a few fries, a bit of cookie. But they add up to be significant calories," said Platkin, a certified trainer who is finishing up his Ph.D. in public health.

Most Americans underestimate how much they're actually eating by as much as 40 percent, he said.

Experts said the book's premise could encourage or discourage dieters, depending on the reader.

"For some people that's really a helpful thing. It really shows them it takes a fair amount of physical activity," said Jeanne Goldberg of the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University.

On the flip side, she said, the numbers might seem so daunting that others skip exercising altogether.

Platkin said the book is not designed for people to look up every morsel they consume in a day. But it does provide a frame of reference.

Even if dieters don't end up doing the exercises, they will probably think twice before eating that slice of pumpkin pie. (An 81-minute walk).



On the Net: http://www.dietdetective.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


10 posted on 12/24/2006 3:22:09 PM PST by JockoManning (http://www.wordoftruthradio.com)
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To: NormsRevenge
"People ate 85 percent more M&Ms when they were offered in nine colors rather than seven."

Hmmm...

11 posted on 12/25/2006 8:56:31 AM PST by BenLurkin ("The entire remedy is with the people." - W. H. Harrison)
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To: NormsRevenge

So far, so good...

Scrambled egg, turkey bacon and cheese pizza from a Weight Watchers recipe for breakfast.

But it's still early.


12 posted on 12/25/2006 9:06:24 AM PST by socal_parrot (I've been a good boy this year...kind of.)
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To: socal_parrot

You should see the pile of Christmas goodies on the counter. (OOps, sorry)

I will be on my 2 small plate regimen today,, amazing how high one can stack food on a small plate. ;-)

Good luck ,, easy does it. save some room for dessert. :-)


13 posted on 12/25/2006 11:06:17 AM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ...... The season that stirs the spirit of man .. Merry Christmas)
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