But what if this year could be different?
What if I told you that you don’t have to pack on those extra pounds this year? And what if I told you that you could do it without feeling like the family outcast sitting at the end of the table with a tupperware of greens and a smoothie while your aunt tries to force feed you pie?
Holidays are a good time to splurge a little and enjoy good food with family and friends. But it shouldn’t be a time to stuff your face until you feel bloated and full of second thoughts about the new belt you decided to cinch around your waste to complete your “holiday look”.
So, let’s get started.
Here are 10 simple tips to keep you on track and away from falling into the weight gaining traps during the holidays:
1. Plan Your Big Splurge
Go ahead and plan for one meal per holiday that will be your splurge. Anticipate it and look forward to it. Most of all, be intentional. One meal will not cause you to gain 10 lbs. But splurging on 14 meals and many more snacks and drinks surrounding the holidays will. It’s the fast food you eat on the drive to the in-laws, the four pieces of pizza you eat the next day, the heavy brunch, and then the three slices of shame pie you scarf down late at night while you tell yourself that it’s your last chance before you start your new diet on Monday that will do it. PICK ONE MEAL. And stick to that.
2. Eat Your Veggies
Even when it’s your big splurge meal, make yourself get a full serving of the veggie offerings, especially greens. Eat those first which will fill you up more quickly.
3. Stay hydrated and Drink A Full Glass Of Water Before Each Meal
With all the salty, rich food going around, you are primed for being dehydrated. This only leads to bloating, tiredness, headaches, and feeling “blah”. Wake up and drink a full glass of water in the morning and make sure you are getting between 6-8 glasses of water throughout the day. And make sure to drink a full glass of water before each meal. This will help you feel fuller and reduce your portions.
4. Count Your “Other” Drinks
For some reason, it’s easy to forget to factor in the fat, sugar, and calories of beverages. We remember grabbing that second bread roll or slice of pie but we forget how many times we refilled our glass. Drinks are one of the fastest ways to pack on fat, sugar, and calories. Take into account how much eggnog, soda, sweet tea, beer, and wine you are drinking. IT ADDS UP! Also, go look up the nutrition facts on your favorite holiday coffee drink. You probably haven’t accounted for the fact that you are guzzling a large piece of pie’s worth of fat and sugar every time you drink one of those. Try to swap that for regular coffee and save those speciality drinks to enjoy on one or two occasions.
5. Stop Licking the Mixing Bowls
It’s easy to want to take just one lick of this and one smidgen of that, tastings and testings the food as you cook (or as others cook). But this adds up! Mentally, you don’t count the bites of fudge you took right out of the pan while no one was looking or the fragments of orphaned turkey you so graciously provided a home for inside your mouth before mealtime. Remember: All those little tastings and testings add up to a whole other meal if you’re not careful!
6. Serve Yourself On A plate and Eat Slowly
No eating out of pie tins late at night, no eating leftovers out of tupperware, no picking at the platter while cleaning the kitchen. Force yourself to grab a nice plate and place a serving of food on it and then eat it and enjoy it at a table or in the living room away from the mountainous pile of food. This will make you aware of how much food you are eating and it forces you to ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” while you head to the cabinet for a plate. When you do make the intentional decision to enjoy a treat, serve yourself a reasonable portion and then EAT SLOWLY. Try to make each bite last for 15-20 chews (try it sometime, it’s much harder than you’d imagine). This will help you enjoy your food, eat less, and it will aid digestion considerably.
7. Get Moving
You may not feel like doing a full blow CrossFit session on Christmas morning, but make sure that you stay moving each and every day of this holiday season. Take a walk, go for a quick jog, do some squats and sit-ups in your room, or set your phone for 5 minutes and alternate jumping jacks and burpees (trust me it will leave you breathless). This is not only good for the body, aids in digestion, and helps you burn a few calories but it will also help you stay mentally strong and not succumb to that lazy, sprawled out on the couch kind of eating . If you want to take a rest day on the actual holiday, go for it. But don’t give yourself a free pass for the five days prior and the week and a half after. Again, be intentional and when it’s time to get back to it, follow through and get back to it.
8. Eat a Nutritious Breakfast
It’s easy to want to fast all day for that one big meal, but skipping meals is usually counter productive. Instead of saving yourself the calories, you are more likely to over-indulge and feel slightly justified in doing so because you tell yourself you’ve saved all your calories for this. Go ahead and wake up and drink a smoothie, eat a veggie omelet, or have an apple with almond butter. Making a good choice at the beginning of the day will put you in a better headspace and make you more prone to making good choices throughout the day and it will also help to curb cravings (this goes for exercise and drinking water as well… if you begin your day with eating a healthy breakfast, exercising, and drinking water, you will be in a better mental space to make good choices throughout the day).
9. Watch the Travel Eating And Prep Day(s) Eating
Food from drive-thrus, gas stations, or airports is rarely healthy. Pack your own healthy snack, order the salad, and most of all, plan ahead. Don’t put yourself on that path to gaining the “Holiday 15” by needlessly making poor choices while traveling. Also, be watchful of the days of preparation leading up to the holiday. While you are rushing around to pack, clean house, wrap presents, and tackle your to-do list, opportunities to make poor food choices are abundant. It’s easy to just order pizza, run through a drive through, and guzzle those pumpkin spice lattes round the clock. Don’t. Make healthy choices and remind yourself how good you’ll feel when you slip right into your skinniest pants to welcome the new year.
10. Get Rid of Shame and Enjoy Yourself
There is a negative mindset that accompanies gluttony and indulgence. The more we stress over the number of calories we just ate and beat ourselves up for it, the more we are prone to that shameful, “who cares, I’m fat anyway” kind of overeating. Let’s get rid of that. No shame eating. No eating alone and in corners because you’re stressed. No eating in front of the fridge while feeling terrible about yourself. Stress and shame only lead to a spiral of terrible choices and a deeper hole to climb out of. Eat publicly, surrounded by friends and family. Eat intentionally, eat slowly. Eat on beautiful plates and savor each bite. This is a time to enjoy the company of friends and family.