15 Tips For Not Gaining Weight Over The Holiday Season
Photo by Bev Serviss
The holiday season is an occasion to bring people together and food is central to the entertainment and socializing. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot respect your healthy eating habits.
I often hear people saying that they gain weight at Christmas time. Please change your way of talking! If you say that you are going to gain weight, you are going to gain weight! On the other hand, if you say that you are going to keep the weight off and maintain your healthy eating habits for the holiday season, you have a far greater chance of not gaining weight.
Here are some tips to stay on track on your healthy eating habits during the holiday season:
- Drink 8-oz. /250 mL glass of water before having a snack home.
- Eat a little snack home (hummus with vegetables or a handful of nuts) before you arrive to the party. If you are starving, you will eat too much.
- Create a better reason than “the food” to go to the party. Go to have fun and catch up with relatives and friends.
- If you want to eat less, choose a smaller plate.
- Limit appetizers/canapés by using a small plate or counting the toothpicks. Choose only the healthier ones such as fresh fruit, vegetables and shrimp cocktail.
- During the Christmas dinner, half of your plate should be vegetables and the turkey should take only 1/4 of your plate.
- Try a little bit of everything and then step away from the buffet.
- Limit yourself to one serving only; do not go back for seconds or thirds!
- Eat slowly and concentrate on the conversations and the interactions with friends and family, rather than on the food.
- Bring your homemade healthy desert to share. Try my chocolate mousse recipe (available here) or bring a plate of fruit.
- Stay away from the cookies, cakes, and sweets. If you want to try some, savor with very small bites are a better choice. It is all about moderation:)
- If you are the one inviting and preparing the buffet, try to avoid over tasting everything; 1 or 2 bites is enough.
- Limit alcohol. I like drinking virgin Mojitos to avoid high calories and sugar from alcohol.
- Make the holiday season memorable for everybody. Play games that require movement and get you out of the chair or off the couch.
- Reduce the stress and keep the weight off by staying active! Make sure you do 30 minutes of physical activity per day. You are not alone! Go with your relatives for skiing, walking, skating, hiking, etc. Look at the City of Kelowna’s website for great ideas on what to do.