*Editor’s Note: Elephant is not your doctor or hospital. Our lawyers would say “this web site is not designed to, and should not be construed to provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, or treatment to you or any other individual, and is not intended as a substitute for medical or professional care and treatment. Always consult a health professional before trying out new home therapies or changing your diet.” But we can’t afford lawyers, and you knew all that. ~ Ed.

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Winter is coming. Are you eating like a bear preparing for hibernation?

With holidays around the corner, chances are you’ll be indulging in excess food, snacks, and alcohol, while watching your blood sugar, cholesterol levels, and unwanted winter weight rise.

Several studies suggest that between the first week of November and the first week of January there is a significant increase in weight gain and obesity worldwide. One study concludes that the holiday season seems to increase body weight in adults, even in motivated, self-monitoring people and participants seeking to lose weight.

On average, 50 percent of adult weight gained for the year was from November to early January.

What Can We Do about Holiday Weight Gain?

One study found that if normal holiday eating was balanced with two days a week of calorie restriction, to the tune of 730 calories a day, not only would this prevent weight gain, but it would encourage weight loss and a host of other health benefits as well.

This study followed 22 adults for 52 days, starting just before Thanksgiving and ending at New Year’s. Ten of the participants followed their regular diet as controls, and the other 12 followed a calorie-restrictive diet (730 calories for two days, plus a nutritional smoothie), followed by regular eating for five days.

After the 52-day study, the control group did not experience weight gain or loss, but there was a significant rise in fasting insulin, higher LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol, lower HDL cholesterol, and higher blood sugar—all factors linked to a greater risk of insulin resistance and Metabolic Syndrome.

The two-day-per-week calorie–restrictive group experienced significant weight loss, a 13 percent increase in good HDL cholesterol, and a 22 percent decrease in triglycerides. This suggests that with just two days per week of calorie restriction during the holidays, not only can you prevent weight gain, but you can lose weight while promoting blood sugar and metabolic health benefits.

Believe it or not, there are several 700-calorie meal ideas.

Consider an Ayurvedic Cleanse to Shed Those Pounds.

The ancient wisdom of Ayurveda employed detox strategies that combined calorie restriction with digestive resetting to continually reset the body’s natural and health-promoting ability to burn fat as a primary source of fuel, rather than mostly or only carbs and sugar.

Longevity studies support an 800-calorie diet for four to five days to support stem cell production and autophagy, the cellular cleansing and repair process encouraged by eating less.

A four-day Short Home Cleanse and five-day Kaya Kalpa Cleanse mimic the longevity science to best detox, lose weight, and reset digestive function, while increasing stem cells and autophagy.

Let us know how your holidays go this year—we’re rooting for your health!