Becky Longacre: Four tips to prevent holiday weight gain

By Becky Longacre

The holidays are filled with laughter, fun and indulgences. A party here, and impromptu friend lunch there. If we were still making most of our living by homesteading and homemaking (as we used to) it would all even out over the calendar year. The intake of calories generally would even with the output on average. But this is no longer the case in the developed world where we tend to make our living with our computer prowess and or presentation skills and can buy anything we want at the fully stocked grocery store down the road.

Becky Longacre

So, how can you enjoy your holiday season and still keep healthy? The answer, as with most things, is mindfulness.

Here are some pointers on keeping a healthy weight through the holidays:

1.) Allow yourself to indulge a bit. If you love your eggnog, for example, then drink your eggnog if it makes you happy. Just be mindful of the actual serving size you are drinking. And, perhaps have one slice of pie with the eggnog and not three!

2.) Keeping with healthy eating most of the time allows you to “afford” the indulgences. If you pay attention to what you are eating six out of seven days of the week and allow yourself a “cheat day” this goes a long way in sustaining a healthier lifestyle (instead of always being vigilant to the point where you set yourself up for binge eating due to extreme restrictions).

3.) Replace your meal with your indulgence. What did you just say, Becky? Yes, that is what I said! If you are at a holiday event and you know you want the chips and dip, the cake and eggnog, and the cocktail, then just accept that that will be your meal and let go of the idea that you “need to compensate by eating something healthy.” Many people believe that after they eat “junk” they need to eat a salad on top of that to “reverse the bad eating.” The problem with this way of doing business is it actually adds to your overall calorie count which increases weight gain. It does you no favors to eat more calories out of obligation to health. If you have indulged, enjoy every bite, every sip, every moment with friends and family. It is not one meal that will make or break your health. It is the overall eating pattern you have.

4.) Don’t put all of your healthy weight eggs into the exercise-only basket. Some of my clients start out with the belief that they don’t need to pay attention to their eating habits, and they can just chase all their calories with exercise to compensate. The problem with this is the math is usually wrong. How long does it take to walk off 1 piece of bread? About 20 minutes. That’s not including the butter or jelly you have put on the bread. How long does it take to walk off a piece of cake? About forty minutes. And that’s a standard serving size of a cake. Let’s remember the eggnog too! How long does it take to walk off a standard serving size of eggnog? Another 40 minutes. Hopefully you have just learned that it is not a solid plan to depend only on physical activity to lose or maintain weight. That’s the math of weight loss: calories in and calories out. Eighty percent (80%) of your weight loss or weight management will come from your eating patterns, not your exercise.

So, what’s the take home message? Enjoy your holiday season, allow yourself to indulge a bit, allow yourself to even replace some of you usual eating with “naughty” food instead of “nice” foods, and look at the big picture. In the end, it will be your trends of eating and overall commitment to your health that will help you succeed.

May you enjoy your holiday season and may you be happy and healthy.

Becky Longacre is a Nurse Coach for Health Transformers LLC. Send her questions at becky@healthtransformersmaine.com or call her at 207-400-7897. Visit her website at www.healthtransformersmaine.com" <Becky Longacre is a Nurse Coach for Health Transformers LLC. Send her questions at becky@healthtransformersmaine.com or call her at 207-400-7897. Visit her website at www.healthtransformersmaine.com" <

Fundraising begins to place solar panels on Windham Veterans Center

By Ed Pierce

If you’ve ever attended a Saturday evening bean supper, the annual Veteran’s Day observance, a Boy Scout meeting, donated blood during a blood drive, or a new citizen swearing-in ceremony at the Windham Veterans Center, you’re probably aware of the vital role that the facility plays in the community. It’s a gathering place for young and old alike, and the first place many think of when searching for a place to hold an event for large groups.

An initiative has been launched to raise money to install solar
panels on the roof of the Windham Veterans Center to help
save money by reducing the facility's monthly energy costs.
COURTESY PHOTO

The Windham Veterans Center relies solely on minimal rental fees and donations to pay bills so when the cost of power began to skyrocket, WVA’s electric bills began to rise substantially to the point that alternative ways to reduce expenses have been sought to keep the center’s expenses manageable.

The current utility bill for the Windham Veterans Center averages about $347 a month at a cost of $0.383 per kilowatt hour. Under a proposal from Cool Blue Solar to install solar panels on the center and harness them to defray utility costs, the average electric bill over 25 years would drop to $55 a month at a cost of $0.079 per kilowatt hour.

That would amount to an estimated 25-year savings overall of $197,939.

A fundraising committee including American Legion Field-Allen Post 148’s Tom Theriault and Craig Pride and retired RSU 14 teachers Donna Morton and Debora Luce have opened the campaign to collect an estimated $36,000 to pay for the panels and their installation.

“I grew up in Windham and at Manchester School we did the Veterans Stars Project having each fourth grader honor a veteran by putting up and decorating stars and pictures,” Morton said. “We always had an assembly with Windham Veterans who talked with the students. I am long-time friends with my neighbor Craig Pride and know so many members of the Windham Veteran’s Center. Debora and I taught together and did the Veterans Stars together and her son is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, so she offered to help too.”

Morton says donations to the project will directly fund a sustainable energy solution to decrease the electric bills while reducing the WVA’s carbon footprint.

“This will ensure long-term savings that will be invested back into our community and veterans’ programs,” she said.

According to Theriault, the Windham Veterans Center provides an essential place for all veterans and community members to gather and support each other.

He said the WVC offers these services:

• Providing care, social, emotional and recreational activities and aid disabled and needy Veterans, members of the U. S. Armed Forces, and their dependents through assistance with applying for VA benefits and helping by donating oil, wood, rides to appointments and even cars.

• Youth Programs such as Boy Scouts, American Legion Baseball, and Windham Little League

• Educational Programs

• Providing and retiring Flags, and Honor Guards at Memorial Services to perpetuate the memory of deceased Veterans

• Hosting Veterans Day activities and Memorial Day Parades

• Rental space for the community

• Free dinners and weekly coffees

• Food Pantry Collections

• Blood Drives

• Memorial Garden for reflection

To donate today to the Windham Veterans Center Solar Project, send a check to WVA P.O. Box 1776, Windham, Maine, 04062, reference WVA SOLAR.

For tax purposes, WVA is a 509C3 organization.

Theriault says that a special plaque will be created to recognize those who donate $1,000 or more. These “Grand Donors” will also be entitled to two hall rentals with a 20 percent discount for the next year.

“Your generosity fuels our progress and ensures we can continue to serve those who have bravely served us,” Luce said. “Together, we can build a brighter, more secure future for our WVA community.”

For further details about the Windham Veterans Center Solar Project, call Tom Theriault at 207-405-8218 or send an email to tommyt93@maine.rr.com or Craig Pride at 207-615-4751 or by email at par80@hotmail.com <