Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
This week on Health Watch, we’ve been talking about losing the weight you may have put on during the holiday season. A couple hundred extra calories a day may have made you gain a couple of pounds. Now you need to cut a couple of hundred calories a day to lose the weight. You can do that by adding nutritious foods to your diet and by substituting lower-calorie foods.
One other thing you can do to improve your chances of losing holiday weight is exercise. Lona Sandon, a registered dietitian at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says 30 minutes of vigorous activity a day is recommended. On nice days, take a walk outside. On cold or wet days, you can go walking at the mall. Winter activities such as ice skating or skiing can be fun ways to increase your activity levels and burn extra calories.
If you keep with these new behaviors, you can create a habit in about a month, which makes it easier to keep going.
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January 2007
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