The average Australian gains between 0.8 and 1.5 kg over the Christmas period, according to Nutrition Australia; US research indicates that people who are already overweight or obese are the most likely to gain over 2 kg.
That’s bad enough, considering that unlike our US and European friends who get to hide their festive flab under bulky winter woollies, here in the Southern Hemisphere it’s time to get back into your more revealing summer gear!
But what’s even worse is that most people don’t lose all of that extra weight once the Silly Season winds down, resulting in an average annual weight gain that at first, is almost imperceptible – just 200 to 800 g per year, in young adults.
In a study of weight gain patterns in US adults, researchers calculated that over half of the average annual weight gain in participants occurred in the 6 week period between Thanksgiving in late November, and New Year’s Day.
Eating too much party food, and slacking off on exercise routines during the Silly Season, are the simple and obvious explanations for this phenomenon.
However, there’s something more subtle going on that’s far more concerning, and has serious implications for the other 11 months of the year. You see, typical festive fare is hyperpalatable – researcher-speak for foods that are highly concentrated in sugar and other refined carbohydrates (including white flour), fat and salt, while being low in fibre, water and phytonutrients.
Hyperpalatable foods overload the reward centres in our brains, driving us to keep eating long past the point at which we’ve satisfied our body’s need for calories, and even past our physical comfort level.
But researchers back in the 1970s also discovered tantalising evidence that hyperpalatable foods may actually affect our weight ‘set-point’.
Set-point refers to a narrow range of body weight that the hypothalamus (a region of our brain that interfaces between the nervous system and the endocrine system, and controls a huge range of body functions, including hunger) sees as ‘normal’ and seeks to defend, by modifying food intake and energy expenditure through exercise.
When our weight drops below this set-point, the hypothalamus causes us to become hungrier and lazier, so that we regain weight. When it rises above the set-point, our appetites drop and we spontaneously become more physically active, and hence lose weight.
It’s analogous to the thermostat in an oven set to 200°C. Once the temperature drops below, say, 190°C, the heating element kicks in. When the temperature rises above 210°C, the heating element turns off again.
However, hyperpalatable foods may override this thermostat, shifting the set-point upwards so that the hypothalamus ‘sees’ a higher body weight as normal, and therefore does not switch off appetite and ramp up voluntary activity level.
To return to the oven analogy, it’s as if the temperature gauge in the oven is faulty, so when the temperature rises to 210°C, the heating element stays on and the oven temperature keeps going up.
In an oven with a faulty thermostat, the worst that can happen is burnt food. But in a human whose set-point has been messed up by hyperpalatable foods, that festive flab may stick around long after the Christmas decorations have been packed away, because the hypothalamus now accepts that it’s your ‘new normal’.
My friend Andrew Taylor (aka Spud Fit) became an international sensation after he lost 55 kg by eating nothing but potatoes for an entire year. Potatoes are the polar opposite of hyperpalatable foods: they’re high in fibre and water, while being low in sugar, sodium and fat. As a consequence, they’re incredibly satiating – eat a decent-sized spud, and you’ll feel full for hours!
Andrew sums up his approach with the motto
Keep your food boring, and your life interesting.
Of course, food doesn’t have to literally be boring to keep you out of the hyperpalatability trap. But if you want to avoid holiday weight gain, keep the KISS principle front and centre: Keep It Simple, Sweetheart!
- Start every meal with a large serving of simple, wholesome foods that are low in energy but high in nutrients, such as raw vegetables and fruits. This helps you to fire off the stretch receptors in your stomach. When you’re already half full from the fruit plate, salad or vegetable crudites, the main course and dessert don’t look nearly as appealing.
- Keep the total number of separate dishes low. Research clearly shows that people reach satiety and stop eating much sooner when they have a limited range of food options. When there’s a choice of 5 main courses and 8 desserts, we’re tempted to try them all, even when we’re full! Andrew Taylor’s secret to Spud Fit success was that he only had one food to choose from (two, if you count sweet potatoes). Once he’d had his fill of potatoes, he simply stopped eating, because there was nothing to tempt him to eat any more than he actually needed.
- And remember, the point of social occasions is to socialise. Step away from the buffet table and make meaningful connections with other human beings. This is at the heart of Andrew’s advice to ‘make your life interesting’ – genuine engagement with other people is deeply nourishing to us humans, and it’s a crucial element of breaking our bad habits with food.
Need more help with navigating Silly Season? Join the December Deep Dive webinar, Surviving the Holiday Season Without Blowing Your Healthy Habits, by activating your 1 month free trial membership of EmpowerEd.
