As we welcome November, we also mark the start of the holiday season, but the holidays are just that, holi-DAYS (not holi-WEEKS)
 
Statistics show that the number one reason for weight gain over the course of the year is holiday and vacation eating.
 
What may happen is that some people could gain about 3lbs around Halloween time, then Thanksgiving rolls around and another 3 - 5lb gain. Before we know it, it's Christmas and well, there's another 3 - 5lbs and let's not forget about New Year's Eve AND Day and 'suddenly' we're seeing the scale top out at about 15lbs heavier than when we entered the holiday season.  Some of us are left scratching our heads thinking "I'm not sure what happened, I didn’t change how I eat!"
 
In many ways that’s true, you don’t have to change the way you eat, you just have to enjoy a few occasions and not manage the weight gain.
 
If you're working with a PLT Nutrition Coach, or if you are someone that manages their weight pretty well, you will have seen how your weight can easily spike from an event…only to quickly come back down when you actively work it lower - this is the key
 
 If you feel you have experienced this in the past, why not make this the year you change?!
 
The PLT ABC’s are the building blocks of our nutrition plan and can be applied to specific situations giving you a guideline to help you stay focused and working hard despite special occasions like holidays!
 
ACCOUNTABILITY:

• Have a plan in place before the holiday season begins
• If you're working with a PLT coach, talk to them about any specific concerns you might have
• Ensure you have your regular foods prepped and ready in addition to the ‘holiday’ foods so that your eating remains on track 
• Prepare a menu that includes foods that you enjoy and you might want to indulge in moderately
• Decide what you will track and what you won’t (no need to track Thanksgiving dinner, but the eating that follows, including leftovers should be tracked) 

 
BALANCE:

• Look at the holiday week and decide how you will balance your days; you may have 4 parties & 2 big family meals that you will need to plan your day to ensure that you remain on track
• Ensure you're getting your regular exercise in and remaining active
• Be present within yourself each day and be mindful of your intentions and your goals
• Plan to eat a high protein, low fat & carb breakfast, possibly delaying breakfast, on party days. Before heading out, eat a little something, maybe a salad with a little protein so that you are not showing up hungry!
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
• Limit alcohol to 1-2 drinks if at all; sparkling water w/lime is your friend
• Pie & whipped cream OR dinner rolls & butter; plan to choose wisely so you feel satisfied and happy

 
 CONSISTENCY:

• Your plan doesn’t end on Thanksgiving eve and restart on New Year’s Day; stay focused throughout the season 
• Stick to your normal routine except when your routine changes
• A holiday event on Friday evening does not mean the entire week is a blowout
• Exercise daily; NEAT is your best friend!
• Communicate with your coach, a friend, a family member when feeling stressed
• Track as usual, except special holiday meals
• Check in with your coach as scheduled.

  
The 3 basic approaches to holiday eating:

• Eat the entire table and drink all the alcohol! Start early, like Thanksgiving Eve (if you didn’t start on Halloween) and go through New Year’s Day! Eat with wild abandon, you’ll start that diet soon and be fine (Let's NOT do this!)
• Choose one day out of the week like Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day or Eve to allow yourself the freedom to eat at will. BUT being mindful that you’d rather not wake up feeling terrible the next day maybe limit alcohol to 1-3 drinks that don’t have 300cal each. Eat less stuffing if you know you want pie; eat raw veggies rather than all the deliciousness on the charcuterie board. Relax, be conversational, enjoy a lovely meal with family and friends knowing that the next day you will get right back on track (Let's DO this!)
• Track your holiday meal as you would any other meal. This is not strongly suggested as it’s not necessary but if you are more comfortable doing so then you absolutely should. In some cases we are attending a holiday event that doesn’t really mean much to us but it’s a commitment we have and we’d just as soon consider it like any other day. Do what works best for you.

 
 Tips & Tricks:

• If you are hosting you are golden! Make everyone’s favorite foods including the things you love that will ensure you don't completely over indulge (veggie platter, fresh fruit to snack on instead of charcuterie yummies)
• Make those same things to take with you if you are invited to someone’s home
• Eat a light but protein focused breakfast
• Hydrate well all day
• Mingle with a water or seltzer in your hand and when you look at the appetizers navigate towards raw veggies and stay away from the cheese etc.
• Talk! A lot! It keeps your mouth busy!
• ‘No thank you’ is all you need to say when Uncle Jim wants to pour you another mug of spiced cider
• Fill your dinner plate with veggies first, then load up on protein and take small servings of starchy carbs
• Eat slowly and relax and enjoy the moment
• Washing dishes is NEAT! (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis) Pitch in and increase your movement after eating instead of hitting the couch!

  
Weight spikes will happen, embrace them as it means you’re enjoying life, but know that you MUST manage your weight back down by tightening up your nutrition for 2,4,8,10 days afterwards - basically however long it takes until the gain has gone!
 
Whether you have a PLT Coach or not, maybe weighing the same on Jan 2nd as you do today IS progress! You avoided the typical 15lb gain!
 
This period isn’t always about losing weight as progress, it can 100% be about maintaining your weight.
 
Don’t put off starting your journey just because of this challenging period. There’s EVERY value starting today, tomorrow - soon - the sooner the better. There is NO reason to put it off.
 
Above all else, smile, have fun, love your family, cherish your friends but remember your goals. We wish you a healthy and happy holiday season and we wish you an epic scale reading on 1/1/223!​

~ Coach Maxine, Registered Dietitian

Blood cholesterol and dietary cholesterol, what’s the difference?

Simply put, blood cholesterol is the cholesterol in your bloodstream. It’s made by your body and
recycled by your liver. High blood cholesterol levels increase the risk of heart disease but cholesterol
itself is not necessarily bad.

The body uses cholesterol to make hormones (including oestrogen and testosterone) vitamin D, bile
acids and other vital compounds. Your liver and intestines make around 80% of the cholesterol
needed by your body which leaves only 20% from the foods you eat.
Dietary cholesterol on the other hand is cholesterol that comes from eating animal products such as
meat, eggs, shellfish, cheese and other full fat dairy products. If someone consumes foods high in
cholesterol, their liver will respond by slowing down cholesterol production to balance out their
levels.

A small group of people are hyper-responders to cholesterol. These people are more sensitive to
dietary cholesterol and consuming cholesterol-rich foods can significantly impact their blood
cholesterol levels.

Health professionals and dietary guidelines previously recommended that people should limit their
dietary cholesterol intake to 300mg/day. It was later found that most of the old research supporting
this recommendation was conducted on animals.

Multiple studies have now shown that there is no direct correlation between cholesterol intake and
blood cholesterol in humans. Dietary cholesterol has been found to positively influence the LDL-to-
HDL ratio which is one of the best indicators of heart disease risk.

More about eggs

In the past, people were advised to limit the number of eggs they ate to 3 or less per week. The
reasoning behind this guideline was that eggs (which are high in dietary cholesterol) would
dangerously increase blood cholesterol.

The guidance around eggs has now thankfully changed over the years and yet many people still feel
a bit ‘scrambled’ on what to believe.

Current research sheds a very positive light on eggs not only due to the effect they have on blood
cholesterol but also due to their unique nutrient profile and impressive nutrient density. It was
found that people who eat eggs are more likely to meet their daily requirements for several
micronutrients without negatively impacting blood cholesterol.

The science now continues to support the idea that saturated fat in food, not cholesterol, causes
health concerns. The American Heart Association removed their recommendations to limit dietary
cholesterol intake and the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines don’t specify a limit.

For the general public it has been shown that regularly eating eggs is safe as long as they are
consumed as part of a balanced diet, as with all foods. Hyper-responders are the ‘egg-ception’ to
this as they need to be more careful of their cholesterol intake.

In summary

Dietary sources of cholesterol are no longer a concern but beware of cholesterol-rich foods that are
also high in saturated fat which will negatively affect blood cholesterol levels.

High-cholesterol foods to watch out for:

• Full-fat dairy products (full cream milk, butter and full-cream yogurt and cheese) are high in

saturated fat.

• Fatty meat (such as ribs, pork chops and marbled meat). Opt for lean ground meat as well as

lean cuts of beef (such as sirloin, filet, flank steak, brisket flat and tenderloin) and skinless
chicken fillets. Choose minimally processed sausage or deli meat that is lean.

• Deep-fried foods such as potato fries, fried chicken and fried pastries have a high amount of

saturated fat from the oil they’re cooked in. Use an air-fryer for a similar taste without the
oil.

• Cakes, cookies and other baked products containing high amounts of butter and sugar

High-cholesterol foods that form part of a heart-healthy diet:

• Eggs- One large egg yolk contains around 185mg of cholesterol and only 1.6g of saturated

fat. Eggs are protein packed and contain a variety of nutrients including vitamin D, B12,
selenium, lutein and others. Be sure to cook eggs with an oil spray and a non-stick frying
pan.

• Shellfish- A 3-ounce serving of shrimp contains 160g of cholesterol and minimal saturated

fat. Shellfish is rich in protein, selenium, zinc, B vitamins and low in mercury.

References
1) Dietary Cholesterol and the Lack of Evidence in Cardiovascular Disease - PMC (nih.gov)
2) Nutrients | Free Full-Text | Is There a Correlation between Dietary and Blood Cholesterol?
Evidence from Epidemiological Data and Clinical Interventions (mdpi.com)
3) Association of eggs with dietary nutrient adequacy and cardiovascular risk factors in US adults |
Public Health Nutrition | Cambridge Core

Weight Loss for Tweens and Teens?🍔🍟🍕🍦
~ Maxine, Registered Dietitian
 
One of my clients kindly asked for some nutrition advice regarding her younger teenage son as he wants to lose weight and join her weight loss journey. Everyone needs an individualized approach to their nutritional goals but I wanted to share my general guidelines in case there are other parents here that are unsure on how to go about this.
 
Firstly, I recommend staying away from the concept of "dieting" or calorie counting at the start. It can be very overwhelming for a tween/ younger teen and often ends up having a negative impact on their relationship with food well into adulthood. I would rather focus on making "health" their ultimate goal. Teaching them about macros and how to build a healthy meal instead is a great start.
 
Here are a few healthy eating and lifestyle guidelines to support:

• 7-8 hours of sleep each night (important for supporting growth and limiting sugar cravings the next day)
• Avoid skipping meals (especially breakfast)
• Eat 2 fruit a day and 3 or more different vegetables each day (3 x 1/2 cup servings)
• Drink lots of water (2L/ 70oz per day)
• Include a protein source with each meal (eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, chicken, meat, fish, ham/ turkey deli meat, tuna, legumes, tofu etc.)
• Limit all sugary carbonated drinks and juices
• Treat foods/ processed foods (such as chocolates, crisps, candy, cookies) should either be limited to 1-2 days a week or eaten in smaller portion-controlled amounts
• Encourage an increase in activity levels by playing sports that they enjoy (a great distraction from the kitchen as well as important for building muscle and burning calories)
• Limit their screen time during the day as that reduces activity levels
• Encourage them to spend time on hobbies/ activities that are unrelated to food.
• Enjoy main meals together as a family and without distractions (TV, cell phones etc.)
  
• Encourage them to join you in the kitchen to learn more about food, cooking, meal prepping and planning their favorite meals for the week.
  
• Discuss the importance of healthy meal choices with the whole family and try to make sure that they don't feel isolated around meal times.
  
• Discussions around body weight should be more positive and focused on what the body can do, the importance of healthy food to fuel the brain, to play sport better and to nourish the body the best way possible.
  
• Instead of tracking, you could encourage them to use a food journal where they write down their meals for a week or two (or to plan their meals/ snacks ahead of time) which will help them to analyze and review their dietary intake.

Lastly, kids tend to copy their parents’ habits so as long as you keep going on your health journey I'm sure it will benefit them too!😁