Hey folks! The Holiday season is among us, which means food, food and more food! So many of you have made amazing strides in your health and nutrition this year, and the Holidays can be a stressful time in regards to staying on track with your nutrition. I wanted to share simple tips I find helpful when navigating the Holiday season and all of it’s tasty treats.
Plan Ahead- I personally am not a huge fan of being super restrictive or counting calories on Holidays, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to plan around my big Holiday meals. Knowing I may enjoy a little more food than normal for dinner, and some desert, I’m going to make sure I have foods in the house that support my goals outside of that one meal. This means for breakfast/lunch on Christmas day I am still eating a well balanced meal consisting of mostly whole foods, and the day after my Christmas feast, I once again am getting right back on track with eating foods that support my goals (i.e. no cookies and ice cream for breakfast on Saturday). Keep these foods readily available, and prep them ahead of time if needed to make the decision to get back on track easier the next day. I would also recommend planning out your exercise for the long weekend as well, especially if you are traveling.
Choose whole foods-This one is pretty easy for most holiday traditions. Traditional Christmas dinner isn’t inherently “bad” per-say. Ham, prime rib, roasted veggies, baked potatoes, these are all great things. It’s the extra-large portion sizes and sweets that can get us in trouble. Try to fill your plate with non-starchy veggies first, then lean protein sources and starchy vegetables. Filing up on veggies and lean protein first can be a great way to avoid multiple trips to the desert table later on.
Slow Down!- As previously mentioned, one of the biggest challenges during the Holiday’s is the abundance of food you are surrounded by and the seconds, thirds and fourths that come so easy during dinner. After you finish your first plate of food, try to wait 10-15 minutes before going back for seconds. It can take this amount of time for our bodies natural satiety cues to kick in. So kick back, relax for a bit and enjoy the company of family and you may realize you are full and satisfied after just one plate. Another tip to avoid binge eating is to not skip breakfast. It’s easy to say you're going to skip breakfast so you have a big appetite for dinner, and just that happens. You have a HUGE appetite come dinner time and all of a sudden you’ve eaten two plates of food and 3 desserts in 20 minutes. Plan a well balanced breakfast, and even lunch if your dinner is late in the evening.
Enjoy the day! At the end of the day, it's just one day out of the year. You aren’t going to make or break your fitness level or overall nutrition in one meal. Have fun, make memories, and don’t feel like you have to weigh and measure everything you eat. Do not feel guilt or shame, just be present and enjoy the company of family and friends if you are lucky enough to be able to see them this year. While one day won’t hurt to consume a few extra calories, do your best to get back on track on Friday. It’s when we stretch the overconsumption through the long weekend-and even into the next week- where we find ourselves digging a bit of a hole. I’ll leave you with a quote I came across recently that fits well here, “Monday isn’t a reset button, but your next meal can be.”
