How to Keep Those Dreaded Holiday Pounds Off

How to Keep Those Dreaded
Holiday Pounds Off

Thanksgiving serves as the opening weekend of the holiday eating season—a glorious (and gluttonous) time of over indulgences, food hangovers and meat sweats. But such sweet excess usually means emerging in the new year pudgy and lethargic. But there is a surefire way to avoid the weight gain and seasonal sluggishness: exercise. A new study by the University of Michigan suggests physical activity will protect you against the negative effects from overeating, like the inability to process calories and dangerous spikes in blood sugar. And if you already work out on a regular basis, all you have to do is keep up with your normal routine.

Researchers assigned a group of people who regularly exercise to eat 30% more calories while still working out. They then compared that data to a group who weren't regularly active. Early results showed that working out kept blood sugar stable while preventing changes in inflammation and how the body breaks down fat.

"I think we can say that the big-picture advice here is that overeating, even for a short time, can signal some changes in the body—not just in fat, but in whole-body health," lead author ALison Ludzki told Time. "And exercise definitely has some protective effects, especially when it comes to insulin sensitivity." It's not all that shocking, of course. Over indulging is bad, and working out is good. But what's new and encouraging here is that staying active, especially during a time when you're not all that jazzed about hitting the gym, can realistically offset some of the damage.

FYI

The average person eats more than 7,000 calories on Christmas day.

(Source: ABC News)