Cutting Stealth Flab

By Janice M. Horowitz

My body's been under wraps all winter. I gained 6 lbs. in as many weeks, and no amount of sweaters and Pashminas was enough to hide them. And now, with spring here...ugh, we all know what that means--off with the layers and, one hopes, the weight. I figured most Americans put on seasonal padding the way I do. I start overindulging around Thanksgiving, gorge and imbibe my way through holiday parties, and by New Year's--clink!--I've inflated one full dress size, and I remain that way for months.

It turns out my winter weight woes are not so typical after all. (But then, my usual size 2 petite isn't, either.) In one of the most detailed studies of its kind, the National Institutes of Health examined the eating and weight-gaining patterns of a group of volunteers closely mirroring the population at large. They ranged in age from 19 to 82, weighed from 95 to 306 lbs. and came from a mix of ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds.

Surprise: unlike me, it turns out, the average American puts on a mere 0.8 lb. during the food-filled six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's. "It's a myth that adults will gain 5 to 10 lbs. during winter," asserts Jack Yanovski, head of NIH's Growth and Obesity unit, who led the research. On the contrary, Americans gain just a few ounces from September through November, then remain relatively stable from March through August. Over the entire 12 months, the average gain adds up to less than 1 1/2 lbs. So much for that legendary holiday bulge.

There are exceptions, though. About 10% of Americans, nearly all of whom are obese to begin with, are persistently vulnerable to an annual seasonal bump-up of more than 5 lbs. But overall, most subjects in the study were so out of touch--and so unaccustomed to stepping on a scale--that they believed they had gained as much as four times the amount they actually had.

Wait a minute. Why, then, are more than one-third of Americans seriously overweight? Here the report provides what is probably the most important insight of all. While we may not gain as much as we think in winter, we routinely neglect to take off our fresh fat in spring. We allow the pounds to accumulate year after year in tiny increments we hardly notice--until we try to stuff ourselves into our old jeans. Call it stealth flab. Indeed, the massive once-a-decade National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey concurs. It shows that over a 10-year period, the average American can expect to gain 10 lbs.

What to do is obvious. First, find a scale, assess your excess winter baggage and act now. "It's a lot easier to lose a pound or so today than 20 lbs. later on," says Yanovski. In general, just as you built up the weight slowly, you should take it off slowly, aiming to lose no more than a pound or so a week.

The best approach is the old-fashioned one--take in less than you burn off. If, for example, you've gained only 2 lbs., you can start by cutting out 250 calories a day--or three cookies. Since losing a pound requires eating 3,500 fewer calories, in about a month your extra 2 lbs. should be gone. Keep them off with a sensible diet, rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grain. And don't forget to exercise. As for me, I'll be working on an extra 6 lbs.--and that's a lot of cookies to resist.

For more information on winter weight gain, visit time.com/personal You can send Janice e-mail at [email protected]