Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

With the holidays fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to write a blog on how to eat healthy during the holidays. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love food, and stuffing my face-but I regret eating like im feeding three as soon as New Years rolls around.


This year, I have decided that I am going to approach the holidays a little different. I went ahead and collected some information from various websites on how to eat "healthy" during the holidays. Some of the tips are BRILLIANT and extremely simple.


1.) Don't Forget to Eat: It is extremely essential that you do not miss meals before the event you are attending--even if you KNOW there is going to be a ton of food. Commit to eating small portions throughout the day. This will help minimize overeating and making poor food choices.


2.) Take Only One Serving of Each Item: If your anything like me, I tend to load up my entire plate. I most certainly take more than one serving of each item. Then again-that's probably because I do not eat before the big event [hence why ill be paying more attention to tip number 1]. Take the one serving guys, and savor it!

3.) Use a Smaller Plate: The bigger the plate you use, the more you will want to eat. Try using a smaller plate. This will help you to minimize portion sizes. Who wants to be the one that gets up for plate #3? Talk about embarassing- Not ME! The smaller plate method will force you to limit your eating.


4.) Fill Up on Fiber: Fiber [veggies, bean dip, fruits, wheat crackers] SUPER healthy and keeps your tummy feeling full. I would recommend to add a ton of fiber on your plate so you do not find yourself getting multiple plates of food.

5.) Drink Water: You can slow down your eating by taking a sip of water avidly during your meal. Sometimes dehydration can feel like hunger so make sure that you are hydrating yourself during your event.


6.) Get Away From the Table: It is hard to control yourself if you are hanging all over the food table. Remove yourself from the food areas so that you are not constantly picking at the food [I have a BAD habit of doing this].


7.) Exercise: If most of these tips are hard for you to do. Get yourself to the GYM before the holiday party. Most gyms are open on holidays for limited hours. Check your local gym listing to see what their holiday hours are. Even if it is just for a 30 minute run, that is some extra calories lost that you don't have to feel guilty for.