Friday, November 5, 2010

HOLIDAY EATING SURVIVAL GUIDE

Family, friends and co-workers are well meaning when they offer you special treats over the holidays. Unfortunately, the best of intentions can sabotage your efforts to eat well and to choose healthful foods for yourself and your family.

Between Dad’s world famous peanut butter fudge and Aunt Leona’s mouth-watering lemon cream pie, you’ve got your work cut out for you!

Your job is one of choice. I recommend some of the following strategies to help you find an appropriate balance. Here are some steps to limit over-consumption of holiday food and to avoid the unnecessary weight gain that is so common during the holidays.

START IN YOUR OWN HOME

If you make your own home a safe haven of healthy foods, you will be doing yourself a favor. Holidays often offer a buffet of any kind of sweet or savory treat you can think of.

I suggest going through your cupboards and your refrigerator and throwing out the refined and processed foods (white sugar, white salt, white flour) you see and replacing them with whole healthful alternatives (see the article “Great Beginnings Always Start with Leaving Something Behind” for more details on how to get started with your home cupboard and refrigerator cleanout).

By eliminating the amount of processed and refined foods in your own home, you can feel a little better about saying yes to the occasional treat when you are at a holiday function.

If it’s tradition in your home to make a few treats, try and use unrefined ingredients in the recipes. Reach for fruit, 100% maple syrup, molasses or raw honey to sweeten dishes, and remember a little goes a long ways! You can make treats that taste delicious without overloading your body with sugar.

DON’T FORGET THE BASICS

Eat balanced meals and choose foods that support your health. This may sound simple, but it often falls by the wayside during the holidays. You still need to eat fruit, vegetables, healthy fats, whole grains, protein, and calcium-rich foods to be a healthy person.

Get regular exercise to maintain your level of fitness. I don’t recommend trying to lose weight during the holidays, instead I recommend maintaining a stable weight.

INDULGE A LITTLE, NOT A LOT

I encourage you to set some limits on how much sugar and refined food you choose to eat during the holidays to 3X a week or less. It’s a good starting place considering the amount of food that is often offered.

Remember, you don’t need to say “yes” to everything that is placed before you at a dinner party. Instead, decide what you would like to indulge in. Choose one or the other.

When at the buffet table, choose smaller portions. You can always return if you are still hungry, but decide if you are hungry or if you are just trying to clean your plate.

Share what you do decide to indulge in. There is nothing wrong with having a bite or splitting a piece of pie instead of having your own.

ACCESS, ABUNDANCE AND PARTIES

Parties are for socializing, I recommend placing this before the buffet table, by arriving to the party with something in your stomach. You will feel much better when you do reach for a small nibble of something you would like to enjoy.

Avoid being peer-pressured. You know when you are hungry and you know when you are full. It’s ok to say, “No thank you, that was delicious, but I am full”.

If someone gives you some treats as a gift, have a piece of whatever it is, and either freeze the rest or throw it away (I promise you, they will never find out).

TEMPERANCE

Above all, please remember to be kind to yourself over the holidays. Special times spent with family and friends are meant to be enjoyed. If you follow a few simple steps and take some precautions along the way you can indulge a little and enjoy the festivities a lot while feeling happy and guilt-free.



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Eat To Live Nutrition by Traci A. Goodrich is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.