Holiday Weight Loss Tips — Do They Work?

The holiday season has begun. That means parties, big family dinners and sweets tempting you from every corner. So while the holiday season can be full of joyous experiences, it can also be a truly stressful time, bringing with it the fear of stepping on the scale once the New Year rolls around.

However, there's some good news: most people don't gain as much weight during this time of year as they might think. But the bad news is that the weight gained during the festive season often turns into an unwanted gift that can't be returned.

Researchers from the National Institute of Health and the Medical University of South Carolina studied 195 people and found that nearly a year later 85% of the participants still had not lost that extra weight. That means that even if you only gain two pounds during the holidays, that if you consistently do that year after year you'll be 10 pounds heavier in just five years! The study also found that overweight and obese participants gained the most weight during the holiday study, compared to others.

Even small amounts of excess weight carry risks to our health, so avoiding weight gain altogether is the smart solution. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of weight gain," said Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Preventing the increase in weight is a lot easier and better than actually gaining weight and trying to get it off again."

Sure, that may sound like something that is easier said than done. There are no shortages of holiday weight tips being echoed throughout TV, radio and print. But still, people tend to gain some weight during the holidays. That doesn't have to be the case! Let's put some real-world reality into these tips to actually make them useful. There are reasonable ways to alter your behavior so that you can still enjoy yourself without becoming an unofficial member of the holiday weight gainers club.

Tip 1: Don't abandon your fitness regimen during the holidays.

Sure, it sounds easy enough but even devoted exercisers can fail. During November and December, time gets overtaken by holiday shopping, decorating, and family get-togethers. But just because you abandon your normal workout routine doesn't mean you can't stay fit. Schedule just 10 minutes per day for exercise. Put it on your calendar so you won't brush it aside. 10 minutes a day can be enough to prevent gaining a few pounds. Exercises to try: brisk walks, strength training with dumbbells, resistance band exercises.

Tip 2: Allow indulgences, but limit them.

Moderation is the key but in reality, how many of us can stop ourselves from eating more than one cookie or resisting all the different types of homemade deserts at a family party? The key here is to remind yourself that if you eat a piece of pie, you haven't destroyed your healthy eating for the entire day. So you can't use that excuse and allow for a free-for-all. To keep yourself in check, write down each indulgence you have. If you write it down, you will see in black and white exactly what you are consuming and that should be enough of a reality check to keep you on track. You may even want to consider posting your indulgences on a public webpage that your friends and family view. Revealing this to others may further help keep you in check.

Tip 3: Stay out of the kitchen.

For those who find joy in baking treats during the holidays, this tip doesn't sound very fun. Instead of placing police tape across your kitchen doorway, have fun baking but give the goodies away. As soon as you bake, place your items in containers. Give the containers to friends and family, or to a good cause. One option is sending them to troops through Soldier's Angels or Treats For Troops.

Tip 4: Avoid overindulging at holiday parties by eating sensibly throughout the day and avoiding the high fat foods at the buffet.

No matter what time of year, you should always strive to eat three to five meals per day. That helps to maintain a healthy weight. But that can be difficult on a good day. When the busy time of the holidays rolls around, it becomes more and more challenging. Still, with some planning, it doesn't have to be impossible. Plan one hour per week that you can take time at the grocery store and stock up on some healthy but quick foods. Try organic frozen meals you can heat in the microwave oven, roasted chicken from the prepared foods section and pre-cut vegetables.

When faced with a holiday buffet bursting with tempting foods, try this plan: first go through the buffet line and pick only the most healthy options: vegetables with a small amount of dip, cheeses, and chicken (not fried) dishes. Eat those, then wait at least 10 minutes before you allow yourself to hit the buffet line again. This time choose just two less healthy options (get small portions) and allow yourself to eat those. Wait 20 minutes and drink two glasses of water during that time. Hopefully you won't feel like returning to the buffet line but if you do you shouldn't be too hungry and therefore should have more willpower by then.

Tip 5: Strive for five-a-day. Ensure that you eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

This proves to be challenging for most people. But, these days you can become very creative with the foods you eat to satisfy your five servings. The best options are eating raw fruit and vegetables throughout the day — bananas, apples, carrots, salad. But if that just isn't going to work for you, try out some of the new fruit-and-vegetable juice blends that give you both a fruit and veggie serving in a single glass. Also, there are fruit strips that are made of 100% fruit. You can even find snap pea chips these days. Some soups have full servings in them as well.

These 5 tips give you real world suggestions that you can do while still fully enjoying the holiday season. So, no more excuses — follow the tips and you should find yourself picking a new resolution come January. No need to resolve to lose holiday weight!

The Swing of Things

Many beginners avoid Lolasana (Pendant Pose), which seems to demand the arm strength of a superhero. But don't worry. Although Lolasana requires strong arms, a couple of nifty secrets will help transform a wimpy alter ego into a dynamo. Lolasana is well worth trying because it will strengthen your arms, upper back, and abdominals. Plus, you'll feel an exhilarating sense of accomplishment if you actually manage to defy gravity and take flight.

The Pendant, or Swinging, Pose asks you to tuck your torso and bent legs (with the ankles crossed) into a tight ball, then to raise that ball and support its weight with your arms. Once suspended, the ball is rocked between the arms like a swing. The ankles are crossed one way to start, then the pose is repeated with the ankle-cross reversed.

The histories of poses like Padmasana (Lotus Pose) are long forgotten, but we do know something about Lolasana's past. According to yoga researcher N.E. Sjoman, it was once known as jhula ("to swing" in Hindi) and belonged to a system of Indian gymnastics described in the early text "Light on Exercise" (Vyayama Dipika). The Mysore Palace's yoga teacher, T. Krishnamacharya, now recognized as one of the giants of 20th-century yoga, used the classic text and probably rechristened jhula and other exercises, elevating them to asana status and changing the face of traditional yoga forever.

To prepare for Lolasana, you'll need to learn how to round your torso, especially your upper back, and to open what I call the "arm circuit."

Get Round
Start in a tabletop position on your hands and knees, with your torso and head parallel to the floor. Position your knees directly below your hips, set your hands a few inches ahead of your shoulders at shoulder width, spread your palms, and press the bases (or mounds) of your index fingers firmly into the floor.

Focus first on your back torso. On an exhalation, press your tailbone down (toward the floor) and forward (toward your pubic bone), and bow your back up toward the ceiling. Hang your head to stretch the back of your neck, but don't forcefully press your chin to your chest. Lengthen as much as you can between the tip of your tail and the base of your skull.

Spread your shoulder blades (scapulas) as far away from your spine as you can, as if you're wrapping them around the sides of your torso. Resist this outward movement by pressing your outer arms inward, as if you were squeezing your arms together. When combined, these two actions will help to further round your back and strengthen your arms.

Ideally, your back torso forms a graceful arch. I say "ideally" because there's a small patch high in the upper back between the scapulas that frequently sinks into the torso, creating a depression that works against your fully lifted Lolasana. Have your favorite yoga partner locate this area and cover it lightly with her palm.

A light touch usually helps you find and then round this elusive spot. Round this area for 10 to 15 seconds, then release back to neutral.

Armed for Action
Yogis have mapped out thousands of energy channels in the human body, but they are subtle and often inaccessible to the average practitioner. Fortunately, modern somatic pioneers have mapped a couple of dozen or so of what might be considered modern equivalents of the yogis' channels. (For more information about this interesting development, see The Thinking Body, by Mabel E. Todd, and Human Movement Potential, by Lulu E. Sweigard.) The big difference between the traditional and modern channels is that, for the most part, the latter run along the surface of the body and so are considerably more accessible and applicable to everyday practice. They help us monitor and adjust our alignment and create openness along with stability or strength.

Modern channels usually come in complementary pairs to form a circuit. Take, for example, the two channels that make up the arm circuit, which you'll use in Lolasana: The outer arm channel runs from the shoulder to the pinky (down the arm), while the inner arm channel runs from the base of the index finger back to the shoulder (up the arm).

From a neutral tabletop position, round your back again by spreading your scapulas into the resistance of your outer arms. Imagine a stream of energy running down your outer arms from your shoulders to the floor, its counterpart flowing up your inner arms to your torso. Feel how the outer-arm channel anchors you to the floor (or earth) and the inner-arm channel hoists you toward the ceiling (or sky). Hold this circuit in your imagination for a minute or two, then release back to neutral. Repeat the exercise a few times.

Belly Up
The belly is the final secret. From the tabletop position, round your back but now initiate the movement by decisively pulling your navel toward your spine and closing the space between your pubis and sternum. Counter the lift of your navel by pressing your index finger bases deep into the floor. Hold for 30 seconds, release, take a few breaths, and repeat a few times more. Now you're ready for Lolasana proper. Almost. Freud once said, "Anatomy is destiny." He wasn't talking about Lolasana, but the saying certainly applies. If you have a long torso and short arms, you're destined to use a block under each hand, because otherwise you have little chance of lifting yourself off the floor, let alone swinging. Blocks will come in handy regardless, while you develop the strength to lift into Lolasana with your hands on the floor.

Blocks for Takeoff Time
Kneel with your thighs and torso perpendicular to the floor and the blocks on either side of your hips. Cross your right ankle under your left, set the fleshy base of your pelvis on your left (higher) heel. Yes, it's uncomfortable. Try to find a relatively pleasant seat; if not, simply uncross your ankles and sit on your side-by-side heels. Save crossed ankles for another day.

Press your hands into the blocks. On an inhalation, lengthen your front torso. On an exhalation, ball your torso up, lift your knees away from the floor but keep your feet on the ground. This modified Lolasana, with the feet still on the floor, can substitute for the full version for now. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds with your head in a neutral position. Release your knees to the floor, take a few breaths, recross your ankles, and repeat.

Swing Yourself
If you felt reasonably confident with this modification, then you're ready to tackle the full version. Do what you just did, but this time try to lift the shins away from the floor as you lift your knees on the exhalation. Here's one more secret (assuming the right ankle is crossed below the left): In the ready position, lift your left knee off the floor, then when you exhale into your ball, push that knee downward, using the right ankle as a fulcrum, and squeeze your right shin firmly up. The left leg will act like a lever to lift the ball of your body away from the floor.

This time hold the pose as long as you can—don't be surprised if it's only a few seconds—and don't try to swing unless you feel fairly stable. Then release and repeat as before, reversing the ankle cross. When you're finished, you might want to sit on your heels, press your palms to the floor just behind your feet (fingers pointing to your toes), lean back, and lift your chest. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute, then sit upright on an inhalation, leading with your heart.

Lolasana can be discouraging, but with diligent practice you'll develop what you need to do the pose: arm, wrist, and belly strength. Lolasana is also a valuable preparation for more advanced arm balances like Bakasana (Crane Pose). If at first you don't succeed, remember what Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita: On this path no effort is wasted, no gain is ever reversed.

Contributing editor Richard Rosen's most recent book is Pranayama: Beyond the Fundamentals (Shambhala, 2006). He lives and teaches in Northern California.

Sneak Workouts Into Your Busy Fall Schedule

The end of summer is within distance. You may be enjoying the season so much that you don't want to admit that, but the truth is that autumn will be here quicker than you think.

With autumn often comes busy days. This is particularly true if you are returning to school or you have children that are. With the extra-curricular activities that come with school, you probably find it difficult to stick to your workout routine, at least until your new fall schedule becomes commonplace for you.

So, while fall is often a time when more people eventually head to the gyms, there is often a period of a few weeks where workout routines get completely abandoned. Rather than punish your body for your hectic schedule, find a way to sneak a little bit of physical activity in. Try some different, fun workouts rather than the standard treadmill and gym machines. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Check out a local bike path, walking/hiking trail or lake. Go once or twice a week for just an hour and burn some calories the fun way — by biking, walking, rollerblading, or even canoeing.

Play a sport. Maybe you enjoy the traditional games like volleyball, softball or soccer. Or if you don't feel you have the skills for those games, try something different. How about a game of ultimate Frisbee with friends at the nearby park? When's the last time you tried shuffleboard or bowling? Or, even try something in your back yard. Go to your local sports store and you'll find loads of different backyard games that require little athletic skill yet keep you on your feet and provide a group of friends with an afternoon of laughs.

Do you or your spouse have a honey-do list that's been collecting dust? Check it out and you'll surely find some activities that will burn some muscle and increase your heart rate. Outdoor options that require pulling weeds or raking definitely fit the bill. Also, cleaning out a garage or painting a room can offer great benefits.

Organize a charity event. Helping others makes us feel mentally good. A great way to both help others and simultaneously yourself is to organize an exercise-related charity program. This doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming. It can be as simple as getting a group of neighbors together and agreeing to walk X miles on a given day. Then ask other neighbors to donate a small amount to support your walk. All the money that you raise can be given to the favorite charity of your group.

Sound and Silence

We can approach the making of our postures as a creative act, bringing them to life with our breath and our intent, just like a musician brings music to life. A musician sits in a silence that holds only the intent to play before she brings the music up out of that silence with her muscles and breath. The sounds of the music unfold through time until at some point the musician lets the silence return. But the silence is different, deeper. It holds more.

We start our poses from a place of stillness. Our postures unfold through time as movements of flesh, bone, and awareness as we move through many different patterns of being, experiencing different aspects of who we can be, like the different sounds of some internal orchestra. As in life and in music there is an end to the process of a posture practice. Traditionally it is the pose of stillness and silence: Corpse Pose.

In Savasana, we allow the sounds of our postures to fade away. We temporarily give up our power to create and set our instrument upon the ground. In the end all that remains is a great flying stillness. An abiding glory nestled inside the sweet sound of our breathing.

On your mat this week imagine that all your sensations in the poses are actually sounds. From your lower body bring up the base notes that come from the earth beneath you. With your chest and arms let out the melody of your creative expression. Allow your head to be free, flowing with the score, as you adjust, watch, and surrender to the beauty of the music being created. Relax all your muscles. Imagine yourself a musician in a great and sacred hall. Your time of play is done. You are resting. All heads are bowed in reverence to the silence.

The Power of Positive Thinking

At the weekly office meeting, you find yourself complaining you have too much to do and not enough time. This lament is strangely familiar—perhaps because you and your co-workers voice it every week. And yet week after week nothing changes. Instead, your creative energy and morale plummet. What's a frustrated worker to do?

Shift your perspective, advises Sue Frederick, the author of Dancing at Your Desk: A Metaphysical Guide to Job Happiness and BrilliantDay: 7 Quick Solutions to Turn Your Day Around (Frederick Malowany Publishing, 2004). "Focusing on problems brings you to the low end of your energy continuum," explains the longtime meditator. "Start thinking about solutions, and your energy shifts."

Frederick says an energy continuum is like a fuel gauge: Positive thinking brings you to full, where you're creative and happy, while negativity inches you toward empty. "People feel empty at work because they're addicted to feeling like victims," she says.

Frederick, who coaches corporations on how to boost worker morale, says an easy way to cultivate a positive outlook is to suggest three solutions to every problem. No matter how wacky, they'll automatically begin to raise your fuel gauge and open your mind-and maybe even your boss's-to new possibilities. And that's when genuine, innovative solutions can be found

Swine Flu, Avian Flu and the Neti Pot

First it was SARS; then Avian and now the Swine Flu! Wonder what's next?

It seems - more than ever before - that the solution lies in prevention OR to state more accurately, "creating the conditions for suitable prevention".

Washing hands, wearing masks etc. are all right but very limited in their approach. The first point of spread seems to be clearly related to inhaling the virus through respiration and ingestion in general.

It would make obvious sense to keep the respiratory system and nasal linings primed up, so that the immunity cells lining the mucus membranes are ready to face the onslaught at the first step.

The virus at the first stage is weak and our bodies ARE CAPABLE of neutralizing it. But what happens is that our bodies are not working at optimum capacities. The nasal linings themselves are accumulated with dead cells and mucus that prevents the immune cells from detecting the initial intrusion. With time, the virus multiplies - in fact, faster by breeding on the dead mucus and cells - and by the time the immune cells realize it, its too late and the immune system lies overwhelmed.

The obvious thing - which sadly, most people fail to understand - is to keep our defenses alert at the first sign of intrusion. We really don't have to do much more; we're blessed with a wonderful self preserving system, which would take care once this is done.

Where does Jala Neti come in?

Jala Neti and the Neti Pot, has been used increasingly over the years to keep sinus infection away. It has had remarkable results as borne out by various validations worldwide.

The principle remains the same - Neti keeps the nasal lings and the deeper naso-pharynx linings primed up, preventing the settling and multiplication of foreign viruses.

Neti has had remarkable success on the sinus front as well as for various disorders of the eyes, ears and throat. It remains a wonder why it has not been adopted as regular a practice as brushing one's teeth.

Perhaps, this latest scare would help people try out the Neti Pot for themselves and discover the age old truth of - "keeping one’s own house in order to ward off the external threat"!

That's Using Your Head

Do-it-yourself Ayurvedic head massage stops stress and stimulates healing.
By Narenda Metha

Do you often come home from work feeling tired and worn out? You have the power to melt away pain and relieve stress in your own fingertips by giving yourself an Indian head massage.

Massage has always played an important part in Indian life, mentioned in the earliest Ayurvedic texts that date back nearly 4,000 years. When used in conjunction with herbs, spices, and aromatic oils, massage can encourage the body's natural healing abilities.

Indian head massage supports the nervous system by alleviating stress; stimulates the lymphatic system, encouraging the elimination of toxins; helps break down muscle knots; relieves chronic neck and shoulder stiffness; increases oxygen uptake in tissues; and improves circulation. Head massage can also be used to stimulate hair growth, improve concentration, and relieve migraine pain.

Begin by choosing an oil. Sesame, mustard, almond, coconut, and olive oils are most commonly used. Massage the oil into your head, starting from the sides and working towards the top. Work your way toward the front and back of the head. Gently massage the whole head with your thumbs and fingers.

Grasp fistfuls of hair at the roots and tug from side to side, keeping your knuckles very close to the scalp. Squeeze at the temples with the heels of the hands and make slow, wide, circular movements. Look down slightly and massage the back of the neck by squeezing and rolling the muscles. Begin at the top of the neck and work your way down, first with one hand and then with the other hand.

Place the thumb of your left hand under the left occipital area (base of the head) and the thumb of your right hand under the right occipital area and relax the tight muscles by using friction or a rubbing movement.

Place your left hand on your right shoulder near your neck. Using medium pressure, gently squeeze the shoulder muscle that starts at the base of your neck. Work your way outwards along your shoulder to your arm and then down as far as your elbow. When you reach your elbow, go back to the base of your neck and do this twice more. Concentrate on squeezing the muscle tissue.

Now place the flattened palm of your left hand beside the base of your neck on the right-hand side. Rub along the top of your right shoulder and continue down your right arm where you squeezed the muscles before. When you reach your elbow, go back to the base of the neck and repeat the action twice. Change arms and work the other side.

Finally, rub lightly with your hands all over the head; extend this movement to cover your face. You can use these movements without oil. If possible, allow a few minutes afterwards to relax.

Adapted from Indian Head Massage: Discover the Power of Touch by Narenda Metha (Thorsons, 1999)