InfoGuide4Parents.com

When I was just eight years old, my mother informed me of a hula hoop competition that was being held on a playground not two blocks from my house.

Having recently discovered the wonders that could be had with a tube bent into a circle, (You know - for kids.) and having recently spent hours playing with mine, I decided to attend the competition, sure that I would win it.

As my mother and I walked to the park on the nicest day of spring yet, with with my ‘hoop’ proudly in hand, I fantasized about the attention I would receive when I won the competition.

Let’s face it - it’s almost impossible to stay on your diet during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays is hard.

I used to blame one of the following reasons for all the extra calories I consumed between Thanksgiving and New Years:

1. Because we’re surrounded by people we love, and most of them are trying to get us to eat just one more helping, one more treat.

2. Or because holidays with the family tend to bring up all sorts of emotions (many of them stressful), so emotional eating kicks in - even if we’re really good at eating right every other day of the year.

Every woman gains weight when she’s pregnant, and many women lose all the extra pounds soon after the baby is born. For others, though, every new child adds an additional 10 to 25 pounds that seems almost impossible to get rid of.

If you know that you tend to put on weight during a pregnancy because you never really lot the extra pounds after your last baby was born, it’s a good idea to discuss the issue with your doctor during your prenatal visits.