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 The holiday season is before us and with that comes food, lots of food.  During the holiday season it is easy to go one of two ways,  become overly cautious of everything we eat or either over indulge, it’s usually the latter. Do not fret you can still enjoy your favorite holiday eats and treats without the guilt (or the weight).  

My Top 10 Tips For Eating Healthy During the Holidays:

  1. Eat before. Eat a small meal that is heavy with veggies before attending a party.  By eating a small meal before you won’t be as hungry and therefore are less likely to over indulge.
  2. Use appetizer plates. Using a plate helps to portion out the amount of what you are eating which helps prevent overeating.
  3. Do not diet. During the holiday season do not start a new diet. Dieting during the holidays makes you feel restricted and frustrated when you attend holiday meals.  Rather than diet focus on eating nutrient dense foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
  4. Make time to be active. The holidays are busy for everyone and it’s easy to not make time for physical activity.  However one of the best ways to counter those cookies, cakes and creamy dishes is to make sure to incorporate 30 minutes of physical activity; this can be as easy as speed walking around the mall while doing your holiday shopping.
  5. Listen to your body. One of the biggest things that we all fall victim to during the holidays is ignoring our bodies.  Eat because you are hungry not because food is near or because you really want to try everything make sure to take a minute to listen to your body-are you really hungry?
  6. Avoid hanging around the food.  If you catch yourself socializing around the buffet table find away to bring to move the conversation into another room that doesn’t have food.  When you socialize around food the more likely you are to snack more.
  7. Don’t skip meals.  When you skip a meal your body goes into storage mode and when you finally do eat your body is trying to reserve as much fat and calories as it can because it doesn’t know when it will get another meal.  Also when you skip a meal you are more apt to over eat because you are overly hungry.
  8. Be weary of beverages.  It is so easy to forget that beverages have calories as well.  Be cautious of how many sodas, alcoholic beverages and other caloric beverages you drink.  Try to stick with the 2 glass rule and then switch to seltzer or water.
  9. Bring a healthy dish. Bring your favorite healthy dish to holiday parties.  This is great for vegetarians and vegans because you know you have something great to eat besides chips.  It also introduces your friends and families to something festive AND healthy!
  10.  If you don’t want it ....don’t eat it! Avoid eating anything that you don’t really want.  During the holidays we have so many options if we try to eat everything we are going to find ourselves over indulging.  At the start of the holiday season make a list of you favorite holiday dishes and focus on those being your holiday treats.   
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