Lisa's Nutritional Nurturing: Losing Weight Over the Holidays

You may have had a little too much gravy this Thanksgiving, but that doesn't mean you have automatically gained 5 pounds over the long weekend. Despite what the scale may tell you, what you may have gained is most probably water weight – the fluids your body sometimes retains when the amount of salt you have consumed is high.

Frankly put, 5 pounds over 3-4 days would be very hard for the average American to accomplish. Consider that one pound of fat is 3,500 calories, and the average-sized person needs 2,000 calories for their body to function. That means you would have to consume an extraordinary amount of calories - about 6,500 calories every day for four straight days - in order to gain those 5 pounds. The American Council on Exercise claims that the average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving day, so you're probably, probability-wise, in the safe zone.

If you are aiming to lose weight and Thanksgiving or another holiday has thrown a wrench in your plans, you may be trying to recover from the small amount of weight you have gained over the weekend. I suggest drinking more green tea as part of your overall detoxification process. Green tea has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth and promote weight loss through its polyphenol content.

You might have heard of the study called 'The French Paradox' which revealed the weird reason why French people ate a diet high in fat but still had a low incidence of heart disease. This was linked to the French people's regular consumption of red wine and the power of red wine's healthy polyphenol content. Green tea's polyphenol kick has been touted as being twice as powerful as the polyphenols found in red wine, so sip away. 

Green tea can easily be bought at your local Sayville supermarket to consume at home, or it's a nice drink to have at any of Sayville's Japanese restaurants, such as .

Have a happy and healthy day.