Fast Easy Holiday Weight Maintenance Tips

The holidays offer a chance to really gain some weight, don't they.  Here's a few fast easy holiday weight maintenance tips to help you out.

Check out the yummy looking pure fat that has risen to the top of this measuring cup of gravy pictured.  (Pass the gravy...I mean really pass it - on to another person!)

You cannot even imagine how much those extra helpings of gravy and dessert at the holiday table will add to your waistline.  According to a new research report recently appearing online in The FASEB Journal, a diet that is high in fat and in sugar actually switches on genes that ultimately cause our bodies to store too much fat

It's a double-whammy!  It's hard enough to convert  high-fat and high-sugar foods to energy.  It's almost impossible when the job is made much harder because these foods also turn our bodies into "supersized fat-storing" machines.  As a refresher course, you can watch the movie "Super-Size Me."

Scientists recently have shown that foods high in fat and sugar stimulate a known opioid receptor, called the kappa opioid receptor, which plays a huge role in fat metabolism. When this receptor is stimulated (look out!), it causes our bodies to hold on to far more fat than our bodies would do otherwise.

One of the researchers in this latest study (Traci Ann Czyzyk-Morgan) reported, "the data presented here support the hypothesis that overactivation of kappa opioid receptors contribute to the development of obesity specifically during prolonged consumption of high-fat, calorically dense diets."  As usual, this was a study conducted on mice.

Can't mice catch a break?

One group of poor little mice had their kappa opioid receptors genetically deactivated (ouch - that must have hurt) and the other group was normal...for mice, that is.  Both groups were given a high fat, high sucrose, energy dense diet.  Shockingly (LOL), the control group of mice gained significant weight and fat mass on this diet. The mice with the deactivated receptor remained lean, mean, nose-twitching machines.

A standard disclaimer would remind us that the effects of eating more fat and suger may have to be studed more in humans.  Maybe the mice study is irrelevant.

In a grossly understated conclusion, the researchers proclaimed, "this research provides more proof that high-fat and high-sugar diets should be avoided."  Did we really need to fund another study to come to this conclusion?

"In times when food was scarce and starvation an ever-present threat, an adaptation that allows our bodies to store as much energy as possible during plentiful times was probably a lifesaver," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "By taking that opioid receptor off the table (so to speak -my edit), researchers may have found a way to keep us from eating ourselves to death."

The study was reported in the December 1, 2009 edition of ScienceDaily.

So, let's recap some fast easy holiday weight maintenance tips:

• Pass on the gravy
• Pass on the cookies
• Pass of the cakes and pies
• Pass on seconds and thirds
• Pass on late leftovers (pre-sleep fuel, I know)
• Don't overcompensate with 5 pounds of salad

Hey, let's just do our best.  How are you going to get through the holidays?  What are your best tips?  Is this a good reminder?

Weight Loss Diet - The Perfect Plan for Almost Everyone (in Four Magic Words)

Except for someone with an underlying medical challenge (for example, a thyroid problem), there is a diet plan that is almost guaranteed to help anybody - just like you - to shed excess pounds. You just have to pay attention and strictly follow it.

Here's the best way to preface what I'm going to reveal to you. There's an old story about a king who wanted his court to amass all the wisdom in the known world at that time and condense it into a format that anyone could understand. Although his court was able to reduce all the wisdom in the world to a series of 100 books, and then down to one book, the king was not satisfied. He insisted the all the wisdom in the world be reduced to a single sentence that anyone could remember.

After 10 more years of hard work, his court announced the "Wisdom of The Ages" sentence had been prepared. The king, his court and his most trusted followers and advisers gathered to hear this miracle sentence. After a few minutes of absolute silence, the head of the court cleared his throat and delivered the "Wisdom of The Ages" in a sentence anyone could remember:  

"There ain't no free lunch."

The sentence above would have made for a very short article - no matter how true it may be.

The same process has already been followed by thousands of weight loss experts over the last 100 years. These experts have distilled all of the information about weight loss, diets, weight loss pills, ancient and modern diet plans and programs into four magic words.

Many dieters, upon hearing these words, instantly recognize the truth and wisdom in them. These four words create hope, belief and action where many other complicated descriptions have failed. Once you know these four magic words, you will be instantly discern whether or not your behavior is leading to weight loss or weight gain.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to know, at any given moment, if your actions would result in inevitable weight loss? Would it help to know immediately if your behavior would move you towards your goals or away from your goals?

I've spent thousands of dollars and countless hours, days and sleepless nights trying to understand the vast number of secrets available in the weight loss process. I've marveled at others who seem to already know the secrets of slimness. I've read many books, watched videos, and searched the internet for clues.

Finally, the words were revealed to me on a popular web article there for all to see. The words were hiding in plain sight! I just couldn't understand how I could have missed them all this time. I had believed that - like the Holy Grail - they might never be found. For perhaps the first time, you will read here the four magic words of weight loss clearly and in perfect order. You may use them for the ultimate good of your health, for the health of our nation and mankind. You may pass these magic words on to others with no penalty.

If you could hear me now, I'm figuratively clearing my throat to deliver this ancient (and heretofore unrevealed) magical four word formula of weight loss to you.

"Eat less; Exercise more."

Everything else we discuss here will, ultimately, support your ability to implement this simple formula. Of course, you may need a little help. You may need a support group of like-minded people to support your journey. You may need a written eating or exercise plan. You may need the support of a doctor/medical professional. You may need a way to suppress your raging appetite (I've been there...yesterday!).

We'll make sure everything we talk about and review lifts you up to a level at which you will be able and empowered to do these two things in the four magical words: "Eat less; Exercise more."