Holiday Tips & Tricks

So you have survived summer, and fall is upon you. You are feeling great, getting in your weekly workouts, hitting your target calories, and have shed some weight or hit your body fat percentage. Just when you would love to get comfortable, the holiday season threatens to derail all of the progress you have made and leave you back at square one at the beginning of the New Year, making yet another resolution to shed some unwanted pounds. The holiday season is supposed to be a time of good cheer, connecting with loved ones, and gifting, but it is also the time of year that excessive overeating can become the norm.

1. BYOF - Bring Your Own Food! If you are traveling to visit family, and know for sure that there will be nothing green on the table, but an abundance of peach cobbler, sweet potato pies, cornbread, and other high carb sweets, it is always a great idea to get into the holiday spirit and prepare something to share with the ones you love. Make sure you prepare one or two options you know will work for you so that you are not left with a less than full plate at the table due to a scarcity of options.
2. Track Calories - Tracking calories is always important and helpful in weight loss, but is critical this time of year. Tracking to be sure you are on target with your goals most of the time allows you the peace of mind to know that if you splurge more during the times that it really matters, you are less likely to see a gain on the scale. Tracking can be anything from writing the food you eat in a food diary to inputting in to an app such as MyFitnessPal or LoseIt.
3. Increase Physical Activity - Eating more is never an issue, the biggest problem is that we do not increase our level of physical activity to compensate for large holiday meals. It is a wonderful idea and can be great to get some quality family or friend time to exercise before your meal! If you set yourself up already by burning what you may consume, you are less likely to wake up the next day and see an increase on the scale.
4. Pick your Cheats - If you are currently reducing or eliminating certain foods from your diet, or limiting alcohol intake to hit a certain number of calories, it is a great idea to decide before the meal what you want to indulge in and how much. When we set limits beforehand and give ourselves some room to enjoy, we are less likely to allow that one bite to become the gateway to overeating a lot of our restricted foods. Consider quality over quantity, it is okay to be a food snob when it comes to your health! Fill up on vegetables and fruit as to not overeat on other foods. So pick your one cheat - and make it something good!
5. Find Healthy Substitutions - Making healthier choices should never be about complete deprivation. Most of the holiday foods you love can be enjoyed; it's a matter of finding substitutions for ingredients to increase the quality of the nutrition. Instead of white flour you could do almond flour. Instead of sugar you can use fruit such as dates without added sugars to sweeten desserts. If you are reducing carbohydrates cauliflower rice can be substituted for regular rice. Keep in mind that any dish you enjoy should be available to you, it is just a matter of finding a good recipe with modifications.
6. Eat Mindfully - During the holiday season some of us can find that we save up our appetites for one big meal, then end up overeating. Mindful eating is the practice of staying present while eating, pausing between bites, and really listening to your body's cues so that you do not end up too full. When you feel you have had your fill, make sure you stop eating. Using a smaller plate can help with this as well. If you still need to get in dessert, you can wait a few hours until the rest of your food has properly digested. If you have dishes available that you know are triggers, give the leftovers to friends and family so that there will not be temptation in your house for days afterwards. Try to have a small, but protein packed breakfast and/or lunch prior to your meal to lessen the temptation of overeating.
7. Watch Alcoholic Beverages - One cup of eggnog is about 200 calories! Be mindful of how much alcohol you are consuming. Choose clear liquor mixed with soda water and/or citrus or champagne or wine. The darker the alcohol, the worse the hangover may feel and the temptation for high carbohydrate foods gets worse. Drink a glass of water before having any alcohol and drink a glass of water between drinks.
8. Buddy System - Enlist a friend or family member to join you on your fitness journey. This can be an encouraging person who is eating cleanly right beside you or someone to go to the gym with. This person not only acts as accountability but is someone to help support you through a difficult time of year.
9. Practice Stress Relief and Get Plenty of Sleep - As jolly and cheerful as this time can be, it also tends to cause a lot of stress for many people. The cortisol release from the stress can cause weight gain and lower our good decision making skills. Along with this, not getting enough sleep can cause the same effects. The hunger causing hormone ghrelin is increased and the fullness hormone leptin is decreased. Prioritize going to bed at the same time each night with no blue light (cell phones, television) at least 30 minutes before bed time to keep up the good habits you have established up to this point.
10. Remember What Matters - The holiday season is all about family and friends. The people surrounding you are what genuinely matters at this time of year, not the pumpkin pie or other treats. Spend time with them (away from the food table) and remember the purpose of these feasts are not to overindulge in the food and drink, but to take time to be with those who matter most. In the same breath - you matter as well. Do not beat yourself up about falling off track during this time of year. The team at NPWC are here to support you during this time and if you do fall off, we will gently guide you back at your next appointment. We are wishing you a wonderful season.