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How to Keep Your Holiday Weight in Check

Free 'Maintain Don't Gain' program begins Nov. 11

Maintain Don't Gain, Duke's annual weight maintenance program for employees, begins Nov. 11. It helps faculty and staff keep healthy behaviors during the holiday season.
Maintain Don't Gain, Duke's annual weight maintenance program for employees, begins Nov. 11. It helps faculty and staff keep healthy behaviors during the holiday season.
By Bryan Roth

While studies show an average American may add one to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, Duke specialists say one of the biggest problems is shedding that weight.

Staff and faculty can avoid that cycle and keep the status quo of their health and wellness this holiday season with Maintain Don't Gain, a free self-directed program that helps employees lose or keep weight off during the holidays.

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Organized by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke's employee wellness program, Maintain Don't Gain sends participants weekly emails with healthy recipes, encouraging messages and tips and strategies for exercise, stress management and adopting or maintaining healthy behaviors. The program runs Nov. 11 to Jan. 3.

"November and December can be the hardest time of the year to keep our exercise and diet routines in check," said Lauren Updyke, fitness specialist with LIVE FOR LIFE. "We've seen that weight put on over the holidays usually stays with you, so it's good to focus on simply maintaining weight and healthy behaviors to stay in best shape."

After signing up online, faculty and staff only need to weigh themselves each week and report it online by 5 p.m. each Monday. Employees earn up to 110 LIVE FOR LIFE dollars during the program to spend on items like workout clothing and iPods at the LIVE FOR LIFE store.

Participants also receive 50 LIVE FOR LIFE dollars by registering and completing the first four weeks of the program, another 50 by completing the last four weeks and 10 LIVE FOR LIFE dollars by maintaining weight through the eight weeks.

In recent years, the key for Maria Ayscue's success in Maintain Don't Gain has been the accountability the program provides her. Last year, she lost nearly 10 pounds during the holiday season by upping her exercise routine and focusing on her diet with a coworker who also participated in the program. They walked around East Campus twice every day and climbed stairs at Wallace Wade Stadium twice a week.

"When you're held accountable, it forces you to realize what the effects of your actions are," said Ayscue, a staff specialist with DukeEngage who will participate in Maintain Don't Gain for the third time this year. "I want to bump up my exercise routine to include bike riding. I look forward to 'Maintain' every year."