Pledge To ' Maintain ' As The Holiday Season Nears

Maintain, No Gain.

Like a mantra, those words will find themselves in the forefront of the minds of those taking a pledge this Thanksgiving to remain at their current weight throughout the holiday season.

The initiative, called "Maintain, No Gain," kicks off today and is a collaborative effort among The News-Herald, Lake Health, Lake Metroparks, Lake County YMCA and Slim & Fit Personal Weight Loss & Fitness in Concord Township.

"People do tend to gain weight during the holidays," said Beth Horvath, health and wellness director for the Lake County YMCA Central Branch in Painesville. "We're not really asking that people lose weight through this, just to maintain it, because if they can maintain their weight, that's almost a step ahead." Starting today, readers can register online to make their pledge official.

The names of those who make their pledge by Nov. 22 will be included in an ad that will appear in The News-Herald on Thanksgiving Day.

However, people can continue registering after that date.

"It's a bit of a layering effect year after year," said Barbara Berkeley, medical director of weight management services for Lake Health.

"So it seems to me like it'd be better to not gain over the holidays and then not have to worry about losing after. The general belief is that it's not that hard to lose weight, particularly a couple of pounds. So the idea of having a resolution to lose weight on Jan. 1, everyone thinks that's a reasonable thing to do." On the contrary, losing weight is one of the toughest challenges people take on, Berkeley said, so deciding to gain now and lose later is never a good strategy.

"Once (the weight) comes on, the statistics are against you and that's the reason we have 60-plus percent of people overweight and 30-plus percent obese," she said. "So it's kind of obvious from those numbers that our general beliefs are probably not correct." Berkeley stressed that people use the same skills weight maintainers use, throughout the year, during the holiday season.

"Weigh yourself every day so you get a real sense of what's happening," she said, adding it might sound like a lot, but it can be a good monitoring tool to help a person adjust accordingly.

"Keeping the consumption of starch and sugar foods as low as possible is going to be the best strategy you can have, and when possible, stay out of the way of food," she said. "If you're in an office, you don't necessarily have to have cookies or cake on a desk near you. Limit your exposure to food." Catching the little gains and understanding the power of food is key as well as knowing your body and its propensity to gain weight, she said "If you can say that on Thanksgiving you weighed the same as you do on Jan. 2, you have succeeded," she said. "People always feel the reason they gain weight is because they're weak. If you were in a battle, if you lose the battle, there are two reasons. One is you're weak, the other is your opponent is strong. These foods, these are the Muhammad Ali. You can be pretty sure you're getting knocked out. You cannot win that battle if you get in the ring with Muhammad Ali." Nicholas Verdi, personal trainer and national program director for Slim & Fit in Concord Township, also stressed obesity numbers as one of the main reasons he's joined this initiative.

"With the rising obesity epidemic across the country, I think that we have to be responsible to tackle this and lower those numbers," he said.

"I know Ohio is one of the most obese states in the country, and if we can start just with Lake County, I think we're going to create a better atmosphere not only for ourselves, but for our children." For Verdi, hitting a more personal level, he just wants to give back to his community.

"With all the tools that I have, I would love to give back to my community and I think it's definitely a positive message for the Lake County community," he said. "It's something that we can kind of come together and keep each other accountable for, not just people on the project, but fellow friends and fellow neighbors in the community." Leadership is vital, Horvath said.

"At the Y, we're all about being a leader in the community for health and wellness and we're trying to support people in their pursuit of health and well being," she said. "Anytime we can be involved in something like this, we'll do it. I think any little thing that will get people to kind of be aware of what they're putting in their mouth, their activity, helps. During the winter, it's cold and it's harder, but if people can make a commitment, maybe they're more likely to step it up a little bit." However, among these elements, stress is not to be overlooked, said Vaia Lappas-Gilchrist, wellness coach and exercise physiologist for Lake Health.

"(Stress and time management) are important because we tend to eat when we get stressed," she said.

"I think you can still lead a healthy lifestyle even during the holidays, you can still make wise choices. In moderation, you can still enjoy some things ... but temptation is going to be all around us." Print out a copy of the pledge, which you can hang on your refrigerator or keep with you as a symbol of your pledge to maintain good health through the holidays. Copies of the pledge also are available at The News-Herald, 7085 Mentor Ave., Willoughby, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Find the printable pledge online as a link in Managing Editor Laura Kessel's column. To make the pledge, go to http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/ekPnp0GYwy41v.

Start off your pledge with free walks in Lake Metroparks properties.

Lake Health offers many exercise classes at its TriPoint Medical Center. Zumba is one of the popular ones.

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