The season is upon us where family and friends come together to celebrate and enjoy everything this season has to offer. A very important part of these seasonal celebrations is that glorious spread of delectable goodness just waiting for you to indulge yourself its delicious sensory overload. Follow these ten tips to help you get through the season without adding on the extra poundage while still finding pure enjoyment in its celebration.
- Don’t skip meals in order to save calories. You are much more likely to overindulge on party food if you are starving when you arrive.
- Keep your exercise routine as much as possible. On days when you know you will be attending a holiday gathering or eating extra treats make sure you get a workout in.
- Bring something healthy to the party that way if there are limited options of healthy foods, you know what your dish contains and can feel good about eating it.
- Skip the appetizers. If you are hungry and need to snack on something prior to meal time choose fruits, vegetables, and other nutrient dense foods.
- Survey the holiday buffet before going through the line and filling your plate with everything that looks good. Decide which foods are a must and which ones you can live without in order to achieve a balance of healthy and not so healthy foods.
- Try to stick to the My Plate method by filling half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables and the other half with food of your choice.
- Limit the alcohol and make sure to drink plenty of water before and during gatherings to make sure you are not mistaking thirst for hunger.
- Don’t gather around the food table socializing as you are likely to graze and take in lots of extra unnecessary calories. Out of sight, out of mind.
- Focus yourself on non-food activities by socializing with others, playing games, or go for a walk.
- Don’t feel guilty and beat yourself up about enjoying your favorite holiday foods. Depriving yourself of your favorite holiday foods is not necessary.