Tag Archives: holiday eating

Navigating Holiday Eating

12 Tuesday Dec 2023

Posted by in Diet, Health and Wellness

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Timeless tactics and tips to savoring holiday gatherings guilt-free and avoiding mindless eating and overindulging.

The holiday season is synonymous with frequent parties, family gatherings, and company festivities where there is plenty of joy, celebration, and an abundance of delicious food and flowing drinks. From table spreads and sumptuous feasts to decadent desserts and open bars, the temptation to indulge and overindulge can be hard to resist during this time of the year.

However, this upcoming holiday doesn’t have to derail your healthy eating habits and all the hard work to achieve where you are today as you head into a new year. With a few mindful eating strategies and tactics, you can savor the flavors of the season while maintaining balance and feeling great.

Here are some tips to help you survive holiday eating.

Don’t Skip Meals. Skipping meals in anticipation of a big holiday feast can backfire. Instead, have balanced meals earlier in the day to prevent excessive hunger, which often leads to overindulgence later on.

Tip: Consistent, balanced meals help regulate your appetite and prevent overeating.

Plan Ahead. This is a must! Before attending holiday gatherings or meals, consider eating a small, healthy snack ahead of time. This can help curb excessive hunger, allow you to take your time and make smart choices, and prevent overeating when faced with an array of tempting treats. Additionally, one tactic I always do is offer to bring a nutritious dish to the event, ensuring there’s something wholesome available for you to enjoy without guilt.

Tip: Planning ahead sets the stage for making mindful choices amidst tempting food spreads.

Prioritize Balance. Balance your plate with a variety of foods. Opt for a colorful array of vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains alongside the richer, calorie-dense options. This way, you can indulge sensibly without missing out on essential nutrients.

Tip: By creating a well-balanced plate, you’re nourishing your body while relishing the festive treats.

Mindful Eating. Be present, conscious of your choices, and mindful while eating. Take time to appreciate each bite, savoring the flavors and textures. Eating slowly allows your body to register fullness, reducing the likelihood of overeating.

Tip: Practicing mindful eating fosters a deeper connection with your food and body’s signals.

Embrace Moderation. The cornerstone of enjoying holiday meals without guilt lies in moderation. Allow yourself to indulge in your favorite treats but in controlled portions. I prefer to just “take a taste”.  Enjoy a small slice of pie or a small serving of creamy mashed potatoes without going overboard. Savor each bite mindfully, appreciating the flavors and textures.

Tip: Remember, moderation isn’t about deprivation but about enjoying treats sensibly.

Be Selective with Indulgences. Not every treat or dish needs to be sampled. Be selective about what you indulge in and prioritize your absolute favorites. By choosing only the most beloved treats, you can enjoy them without feeling deprived or overeating.

Tip: Being selective allows you to fully appreciate and enjoy your favorite holiday food.

Practice Self-Compassion. Remember, the holiday season is a time of celebration, not guilt. If you find yourself overindulging at a particular meal or event, forgive yourself and move on. Avoid self-criticism and focus on making healthier choices moving forward.

Tip: Embrace kindness towards yourself and focus on progress, not perfection.

Stay Hydrated. Often, thirst can masquerade as hunger and too much alcohol can cause dehydration. Stay hydrated by drinking water throughout the day. Before reaching for a second helping, have a glass of water to assess whether you’re truly hungry or simply thirsty.

Tip: Keeping hydrated can prevent unnecessary snacking and overindulgence.

Incorporate Physical Activity. Maintain your exercise routine during the holidays. Physical activity not only helps burn extra calories but also boosts your mood and energy levels, making it easier to resist overeating.

Tip: Exercise is a fantastic way to maintain balance and feel good during the holiday season.

Mindset Shift. Reframe your approach to holiday eating. Instead of fixating solely on food, focus on the joy of spending time with loved ones, creating memories, and engaging in activities that don’t revolve around eating.

Tip: Shifting focus from food to cherished experiences enhances the holiday spirit.

Summary

Surviving holiday eating isn’t about strict diets, rigid rules, or deprivation. It’s about finding a balance that allows you to enjoy the festivities without compromising your well-being. By incorporating moderation, mindfulness, and self-compassion, you can navigate the holiday season feeling satisfied, fit, and healthy. Embrace the spirit of the season while making mindful choices, and you’ll find yourself savoring the holidays without any regrets.

Be Fit. Be Strong. Be Well.
Adriana

Getting through Holiday Eating: 10 Survival Tips to Avoid Weight Gain

13 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by in Diet, Health and Wellness, New Year's Resolutions, Setting Goals

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week111Holiday eating. You know that time of annual time of year when you are around family, friends and co-workers and celebrate the festivities with food; lots of it.

It really starts with Halloween. All the extra candy you have from not enough ghoulish goblins and fairytale princesses appearing at your front door. All that sinful chocolate and sugary candy is too good to go to waste, right? So day after day, you work at emptying the candy bowl until it’s empty.

Next, just when all the candy is gone and you are feeling guilty for your overindulgence on sweet treats, it’s time for some turkey and trimmings, not to mention the endless choices of pies and desserts. Were stuffing, mash potatoes, corn bread and lots of leftovers mentioned? Then come Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. More celebrations and more food! An extra bite of cheese, another sip of alcohol, one more cookie…who is going to notice? Before you know it, your waistline to clothing is snug. Ugh!

While tasty and mindfully rewarding during the moment, eating mindlessly or emotionally for pure enjoyment or release during the holidays is neither wise nor healthy. It easily can play havoc on your body, put on extra inches on your waistline, and possibly throw your regular eating habits so far off that it’s tough climb to get back on track. Then, before you know it, it’s New Year’s Eve and one of your very first resolutions, as it is every year, is to lose the weight.

Let this holiday season be different. Resist overindulging and packing on the unnecessary and unwanted pounds. Here are 10 survival tips to make through the holidays.

  1. Awareness
    You’re reading this article so you are cognizant you may fall victim to holiday overeating and acknowledgement is a positive start. Realizing and admitting are the first steps in any prevention. Start planning and get prepared. The road is about to get bumpy!
  1. Discipline
    Your mind is powerful and deep down, you know you have what it takes to be in control. So, use it. When wanting to eat, use your hungry scale. On a scale of 1 to 10, how hungry are you? Is it mealtime? Are you actually hungry? Is your body actually thirsty? Use the determination and restraint powers you have from within and resist eating when you’re not and overindulgences.
  1. Diet
    You are what you eat. Maintain a healthy balanced diet with the proper food intake quantities and calorie count and avoid trigger foods, sugar, refined fructose, grains, and processed food. It may help to keep a food journal since recording your food intakes will make you more conscious and personal feeling of accountable. If you’re hungry in between meals, find a health 150-calorie snack to hold you over.
  1. Exercise
    With the onset of fall and winter comes the nature desire to want to stay in and hibernate. But don’t! Continuing your workouts is a must. The inclement weather and shorter days are all the more reason to keep exercising. Maintain regular strength training to fight off muscle loss and boost metabolism plus cardio for the calorie burn. If extra incentive is needed, add a new class or sport, such as aerobics and kickboxing or skiing and ice skating for a new fitness surge.
  1. Activities
    Less ideal weather should not equate to less activities. When at home, don’t get too comfortable on your couch. The last thing you want to do is fall into a rut of watching TV as your main activity with a big bowl of munchies in your lap. Instead, get moving and get involved. Stay active and keep busy to prevent snacking to sooth your boredom and winter blues.
  1. Parties
    Never EVER go to a party hungry or once you arrive you will head straight to the table of food and gorge on all the bite-size snacks with sneaky mounting calories. Instead, and before you feel guilty for overindulging, chow down on high-fiber fruits and vegetables to curb your appetite beforehand. Once you’re at the party, select from the healthiest selections, stop when your stomach feels full and put physical distance between yourself and the food.
  1. Alcohol
    It is the time for holiday cheer. But unfortunately, alcohol is just loaded with high calories, especially mixed cocktails. Without realizing it, you can easily drink as many calories that you consume in one meal, and perhaps more. Instead, it’s best to avoid alcohol and it’s empty calories all together. Or limit your drinks and sip a glass of water in between to help dilute calories.
  1. Sleep
    Get on a regular sleep pattern and aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. Not enough shuteye causes an imbalance with of the ghrelin and leptin hormones, which normally work in harmony in maintaining weight. Consistent less sleep causes an imbalance. Also, avoid caffeine in the afternoon and avoid eating 3 to 4 hours before bed for a solid good night’s rest.
  1. Friends
    Watching what NOT to eat can be hard when temptations are almost everywhere you turn. So, surround yourself with family and friends who encourage your goal of not gaining. The emotional and mental support from a friend or family member who is cheering you on just might be the added incentive you need to make it through the holiday season.
  1. Damage Control
    Overate? Not enough exercise or sleep? Don’t beat yourself over the slip and don’t continue on the path of construction. Just make up for it right away by cutting calories from you day, adding extra exercise, and getting to bed earlier for a couple nights.

Keep a commitment to yourself to nourish your body with only the healthiest foods available and without the unnecessary and unhealthy overindulgences. The more you succeed, the easier it will become. You have one body so keep this in front of mind so true and good to yourself!

Be Fit. Be Strong. Be Well.
Adriana