The holidays are here and it’s one of my favorite times of the year. Football, friends and fiesta. There aren’t many combinations I enjoy more. Unfortunately, it is also one of the worst seasons for weight gain, gas and bloating. All the good food and drinks are hard to turn down, but judging by all the new faces I see at the gym the first of every year, I think most of us misbehave. The goal during the holiday season is to enjoy yourself the best you can but at the same time maintain your goals for your health and well-being. About 75% of annual weight gain takes place during the holidays. Go ahead and celebrate, but use balance and keep you goals in mind.

Gas, bloating and weight gain are some of the most common complaints my patients deal with at my San Antonio, TX gastroenterology practice. It’s a frustrating process both from a patient and a physician standpoint. We have a fairly good understanding of the pathophysiology of gas and bloating but we don’t have great medications for it. We have breath tests to look for dietary problems like lactose intolerance and fructose malabsorption. We see a fair amount of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth as a cause. We have lab tests and endoscopic procedures to test for celiac disease, H. pylori and inflammatory conditions like Crohn’s. We work on diet and lifestyle modifications. We try things like antibiotics, probiotics, antispasmodics and digestive enzymes. We do food and symptom diaries and get advice from our dietician colleagues. Ultimately, there is usually always something we can do to improve on the symptoms. Here are some tips that I hope you will find helpful as we head into the holiday season.

So with that background, here are my 9 survival tips to avoid Weight gain and Bloating during the holiday season:
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Don’t break your regular exercise routine. It’s easy to get in the holiday mood and spend more time sitting by the fire watching football or old movies. Soon it becomes a long vacation not only from work but from your regular exercise routine. Don’t let this happen. If you normally walk or go to the gym a few times a week make an extra effort to keep this going. If you go to a party, offset those extra calories with a few extra sets at the gym or laps at the track. Your persistence with this over the holidays will do wonders for how you feel and will keep you on track for where you want to be come January.

Pick a friend and set a goal. Sticking to anything hard is easier when you have someone to do it with you. Set a goal for your weight. Set a goal for your workout routine. Then pick a friend to be accountable to. Once you do this you will find it much harder to “cheat”. Pick a friend that will be honest with you and call you out when you’re slipping. Even consider setting a weight or exercise goal and put some money on the line with your friend if you don’t reach your goal. Money is a great motivator.

Don’t go to a party hungry. We have all heard this one before but it never hurts to hear it again. If you show up at a party having not eaten anything you are much more likely to over eat and eat the wrong stuff. This is one of the reasons we feel all bloated and full and that’s no fun. Have a small healthy snack before you go out and you are more likely to eat more reasonable at the party.

Avoid the carbs. This one is big. The holidays are full of high carbohydrate foods. Cakes, cookies and desserts. Eggnog and sodas. They all taste good but cause a lot of gas and bloating and weight gain. Remember, the main cause of gas and bloating is fermentation of carbohydrates by the bacteria in our bowels. Minimize the carbs and you will feel better at the end of the party.

Try some probiotics. I’m a big believer in probiotics and use them frequently with my San Antonio, TX patients. One of the most common causes of bloating, cramps and distention happens when bacteria in our bowels ferment foods we eat. Many patients develop small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or a simple alteration in our normal gut flora. The addition of probiotics (either as an over-the-counter supplement or in yogurt) can help with these symptoms. I recommend them during holidays, when you travel or when taking antibiotics for any reason. There are no good studies to show which probiotics are best. I tell my patients to avoid the type that need to be refrigerated and don’t buy anything too expensive.

Avoid the gluten. Celiac disease is rather common and if gas and bloating are symptoms you frequently get you need to be tested for this. There is also an entity known as non-celiac gluten sensitivity. This is a condition where you have symptoms when you ingest gluten but don’t truly have celiac disease. Gluten is found in wheat, rye and barley. Try minimizing gluten containing foods over the holiday and see how much your symptoms improve.

Eat protein. Protein will help you feel full and control your appetite. Protein rarely causes gas and bloating like carbohydrates do. Try to eat more lean meat, chicken, seafood and eggs.

Minimize the stress. Holidays are a very stressful time of year for most people. Work deadlines, family, buying gifts, family, planning parties, family…. It adds up. One of the big problems with stress is that it usually ends up in your stomach. Bloating, cramps, irritable bowel syndrome and reflux all tend to flair during times of stress. Find a good stress relief. Work out, go for a walk, get a message, have lunch with an old friend. Remember that about 90% of the things we worry about in life never actually happen. One of my favorite sayings is by Mark Twain when he said “I’ve been thru some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened”.

Minimize your alcohol intake. Wait, scratch that.

Try the other ideas first.  I hope some of these ideas are helpful. If you have any that you want to recommend please let me know. From my family to yours I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season.

Written by: Russell Havranek

Image credits: lolchristmas.com