November 18, 2008
Pre-Holiday Strategies
Do you typically gain weight during the holidays? Do you find yourself gorging at Thanksgiving and then thinking that, since Christmas is right around the corner, you may as well ‘eat whatever you want’ and then ‘be good’ once January 1 rolls around?
I’ve heard that SO many times- but it’s not really the best approach.
How about not gaining the weight in the first place?
It’s not that difficult- just have a PLAN:
1.)Be sure to get your workouts in each day, even if it’s a short one. Make it a habit NOW! If you expend a couple of hundred calories through a few extra trips to the gym, that can easily offset that extra dessert you had at your friend’s Christmas Party!
2.) CHOOSE where you are going to splurge and stick with it. If you LOVE your grandma’s pumpkin pie that she only makes at Thanksgiving, perhaps you might want to budget your calories for a slice of that. BUT- that doesn’t mean you have to have loads of bread, and stuffing and helpings from the cheese plate as well. In fact, if you do all of that, you’re going to be too full to enjoy that slice of pie anyway! (Better yet- make your own version of a pumpkin dessert with a pureed mixture of baked pumpkin and apples, sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon and a splash of vanilla extract- delish with very little calories, zero fat and 100% Paleo-Friendly!)
3.) As always, keep your nutritional balance constant throughout the day. DON’T ‘save’ your calories for the big Christmas Dinner by skipping meals all day long leading up to the feast. You’ll set yourself up to make poor nutritional choices and end up stuffing yourself before you realize how full you are!
4.) If you are hosting the big fete- keep it heathy where you can. Friends tease me about the amount of broccoli & kale I eat, BUT- people never leave a dinner party at my house over-stuffed or under-satisfied. If you keep everything fresh and present it beautifully, it will get eaten. Guests will thank you for giving them at least one holiday event to attend where they’re NOT left with options such as cheese and crackers followed by copious amounts of bread and other wheat products to ingest!
5.) Keep hydrated – dehydration is often mistaken for hunger so keep on top of your water intake, as well as your fresh fruits & veg. This is such a no-brainer, but it warrants being said over and again until the point gets across!
6.) Finally- remember, though you’ve no doubt heard it plenty of times before- your health and fitness are lifestyle choices, NOT something you do for a little while and then revert back to old, bad habits. Take baby steps if you need to, in order to make lasting, effective and reasonable changes to get to the healthiest you that you can be!
Happy Holidays!
