The holidays can be the hardest time to control your diet and eating, with so many good home-cooked meals, outings with friends and family that you haven’t seen in a while, or with holiday gatherings and parties. It’s important to think about how you are eating, and stick to a healthy diet, to avoid needing to make a new year’s resolution to lose the bulk you built up eating cookies! Let’s explore a few easy and fun tips that will keep you slim and trim this holiday season, without missing out on the foodie fun!
1. Start the day with a healthy breakfast
Starting the day with a healthy breakfast of fruit or yogurt will help give you energy for the long days of work, shopping and merrymaking. It will also help you avoid the constant grazing that is so tempting when you are cooking meals, or chatting while your friends or family cook. Go for something light and nutritious for your first meal of the day, to kick start your metabolism and stay in shape!
2. Include one healthy option on your plate
No one is perfect, so don’t try to avoid all the foods you love. Try rationing the amount of unhealthy treats you grab, and temper them with at least one healthy option on your plate. Many people suffer from flu-like sibo symptoms when first switching to a healthier diet. What is sibo? It’s the process of toxins dying off in your body, in favor of more healthy alternatives. They usually go away after a few days, so stick with it!
3. Outsmart the buffet
Buffets look so good, but limit yourself to one serving of each selection, to ensure you don’t accidently overload your plate and your stomach. If you can avoid the buffet entirely, it’s probably smart, but if you can’t, limit yourself to one or two trips for new plates, to ensure you don’t accidently get overly stuffed. Try having a snack before you attend a buffet-laden party!
4. Choose nutritious cooking methods
It can be tempting to cook with too much butter and oil around the holiday season, simply because so many good holiday recipes call for it! Instead, opt for healthy alternatives or recipes, to ensure you and those you are feeding are not grazing on too much fatty or unhealthy foodstuff. Steaming can be a fast and easy way to cook veggies that come out perfectly, and are free from the dreaded butter, oil and fat!
5. Fit in favorites
Staying healthy is not an all-or-nothing exercise, so don’t treat it like one. It’s important to leave room for your favorite foods and snacks, to ensure you are both happy and healthy. Be good to yourself when you make a mistake, and limit your favorite unhealthy foods if possible – this way you won’t miss out and will still be filling yourself with the healthiest foods possible.
6. Keep moving
Make fitness fun this year, by combining your holiday workout with your shopping tasks, or invest in a pair of wireless headphones, to make your workout more fun and energetic. Or try doing a bit of in-person shopping at your local shopping center, to support your local community and get some exercise in the process.
7. Stay hydrated
The holiday season means so much food, but it also means some drinking might be on the menu. Even if you are taking it easy this year, make sure that you drink lots of water, to ensure you have all the mental and physical energy you need to stay healthy and busy with family and friends.
8. Eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed
Since we aren’t perfect, there will be times when there are not many healthy options, or even none at all. No matter what you eat, make sure you eat in moderation, and stop when you stop feeling hungry, as opposed to when you feel stuffed or overly full. This can be difficult with long family dinners and cooking and grazing, so try just taking small, slow bites, and taking your time, to ensure the bulge doesn’t sneak up on you!
9. Stick to a sleeping schedule
Adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per day to feel their best. There is so much happening and so much to do, sometimes sleep falls by the wayside during the holiday season. This year, prioritize getting in bed at a decent hour, and getting a full night's rest.
The holiday season means friends, fun, gifts, and yes – food. Make a commitment this year to eating healthier foods, and less food in general, and wake up on January 1st feeling your best, and proud of the willpower you showed throughout the tempting holiday food season! Happy holidays friends!
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