Now that the holiday season is here, you are probably being invited to many gatherings that involve delicious food. Turkeys, stuffing, red wine, prime rib steaks, cakes, candies, chocolates, and other deserts are on your mind.
Additionally, there seems to be no time for exercise as you are going from one party that revolves around amazing food to another. At the same time, you are doing your last minute shopping, cooking, and more.
The holiday season is a time where people usually take a break from their diet and exercise regimens. That’s fine. However, to make it easier for you to deal with the holidays, here are a few tips on how you can enjoy the season, eat the food you like and still maintain your ideal weight.
1. Don’t deprive yourself of delicious foods. If you want that piece of cake, go ahead and have a small piece. If you keep depriving yourself, eventually you will end up binging, and that is worse for you than having a small piece when you really want it.
2. Control your portions. You can have a taste of every delicious food item on your friend’s party table, but there is no need to go for seconds or thirds.
3. Stay hydrated. Drinking water or tea curbs your hunger, which will help you keep your portions under control when it comes time to eat.
4. Make exercise a part of your holiday routine with your friends and family. For example, instead of sitting and watching a movie, go for a nice walk downtown where you can enjoy window shopping and sharing the festivities with other people. Exercise can also help you deal with the stress of the holiday season.
5. Eat slower. When you eat slower, you savour the taste of that yummy food, and eating slower also keeps you from overeating because you get full sooner.
6. Don’t skip meals. You might think that skipping breakfast and lunch because you were invited to come to a large turkey dinner is a good idea, but such thought can backfire because when you are very hungry, you will eat more than you intend to. Ultimately, you will end up taking in more calories in that one meal than you would have if you had eaten your breakfast and lunch.
7. Don’t eat junk foods like chips. Chips are filled with trans fat and empty calories. If you must have something “bad”, have a small piece of your favorite holiday treat. You will be happier, as opposed to blowing your caloric budget on junk food that you can eat all-year-round.
8. Control your intake of liquid calories. Alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, and other beverages can rack up the calories very quickly if you are not careful. Try limiting your alcoholic drinks to only one or maybe two. As for soft drinks, skip them.
9. If there are vegetables and fruit at the party, eat those first. Fruits and vegetables are delicious, healthy, and they can help keep your cravings down.
10. Aim to maintain your weight, as opposed to dieting. The holiday season is probably the worst time of the year to start dieting, and besides diets don’t last, but healthy eating habits do.
Happy Holidays!
Aviva 🙂
