The holiday season is a thrilling time of year filled with family gatherings and celebration among coworkers and friends. Although festive, the holidays can bring about many challenges regarding weight loss. Being continuously surrounded by comfort foods coupled with an all-you-can-eat atmosphere must be counterbalanced with the capacity to not over-indulge and conserve healthy eating habits.
Plan Ahead
In a season where events revolve around food, it is important to have a plan in place regarding how to combat over-consumption of those tasty holiday treats. Bringing a vegetable dish to a pot luck gives you a healthy alternative amid a sea of high-fat, high-sugar foods. Implementing concepts like eating a nutritious snack prior to the feast helps keep your food intake within moderation. While spirited conversation, moving from person to person rather than from dish to dish, redirects your attention from food to friends.
Portion Control
Filling your plate with enormous helpings of whatever you please does not bode well for your waistline. Remember that holiday foods are chocked full of fat, sugar and sodium, all in the name of great taste. In light of this, every slice, scoop and spoonful harbor hidden calories you may not have considered. Being discriminating in your food selections and keeping your portions approximately the size of your fist or smaller will help you avoid excess holiday weight gain.
Don't Drink Your Calories
Seasonal holiday drinks such as eggnog, apple cider concoctions, flavored coffees and the like are refreshing but full of empty calories. According to the National Institutes of Health, an 8-oz. serving of non-alcoholic eggnog made with whole milk boasts 342 calories and 19 g of fat, 450 calories if alcohol is added. Holiday beverages account for a large chunk of seasonal calorie intake that can be lessened or avoided by modifying recipes or opting for zero-calorie drinks and water.
Maintain Physical Activity
In the midst of a whirlwind of shopping, back-to back parties and added time constraints, it can be hard to find time to exercise. But neglecting physical activity is not an option during the holidays. Even though you may not have time for your normal workout routine, engaging in bouts of aerobic activity like a short run before work can help you burn calories. Incorporating frequent bursts of such activity helps maintain a sense of a healthy lifestyle during such a hectic time of year while contributing to weight management and subsequent weight-loss goals.
Limit Your Indulgence
Part of the attraction of seasonal foods has to do with allowing yourself to partake in cuisine you would normally avoid. This mindset coupled with "saving your appetite" for an event by not eating enough or at all throughout the day leads to excessive intake of high-calorie foods. Limiting your indulgence to a particular dessert or a serving of your favorite comfort food, at a specific gathering rather than at each one you attend, will enable you to escape the holidays with your midsection intact.
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