Most Americans think that people gain about five to ten pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. This is actually wrong. On average we gain about a pound during the winter holiday season. But don’t celebrate yet!

The bad news is we don’t take this ‘holiday’ pound off come January. We slowly accumulate weight through our adult years, which contributes to obesity later in life, as reported in a study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

According to NICHD Director Duane Alexander, M.D., “These findings suggest that developing ways to avoid holiday weight gain may be extremely important for preventing obesity and the diseases associated with it.”

Prior to this study, it was known that Americans gain an average of 0.4 to 1.8 pounds each year during their adult lives. The unknown part was whether they gained weight at a steady rate throughout the year, or just at certain times, such as during the winter holiday season.

To find out just how much of this weight occurred over the holidays, they measured the weight and collected other health information from 195 volunteers. Compared to their initial weight in late September or early October, the volunteers gained just over a pound by late February or early March. Most of the weight gain occurred during the six-week interval between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

“Although an average holiday weight gain of less than a pound may seem unimportant, that weight was not lost over the remainder of the year,” Dr. Yanovski, the lead scientist, said. When 165 of the study volunteers were weighed a year after the study began, they had not lost the extra weight gained during the holidays, and ended the year a pound and a half heavier than they were the year before.

The researchers believe that knowing that people actually accumulate a large proportion of their yearly weight over the winter holiday season may prove useful in treating obesity.

How to Shed the Holiday Pound

Now that the holiday season is winding down, we want to help you shed the holiday pound (or more).

Taking a hard look at your diet is a good place to start. Chances are you’ve been indulging in second helpings of holiday goodies for a last month or more. This is less than ideal for the waistline.

There are some easy changes you can make that will help you lose at least a pound, which will help you reduce your chances of obesity over the long-term.

The video below features Dr. Clay Hyght, a nutrition and training consultant, who is going to elaborate on 7 nutrition fundamentals that will help you maintain a healthy weight.

1. Prepare your meals in advance
2. Eat every three hours
3. Do not eat to get full
4. Eat lean protein with each meal
5. Eat natural foods
6. Do not drink beverages the contain calories
7. Have only one cheat meal per week