Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle ALL the holiday parties, candy, drinks, temptations and EVERYTHING that can knock you off your weight loss journey! That’s right, it’s time for the holiday trifecta! We just got through the candy overload of Halloween and now we have Thanksgiving and Christmas to survive.
The holiday season makes it challenging for anyone to stay on track when you are trying to eat healthy and lose weight. Everywhere you turn there is a candy dish or Christmas party or a glass of eggnog taunting you to cheat just a little, but when we do multiple “cheats” those pounds can start to multiply as well, and not in the direction we want!
To help you fight the holiday party temptations, we have put together a few tips for you to put into practice!
Survey the entire table before you take any food. Decide what foods are worth eating and what can be ignored, and then stick to that decision. Why waste calories on foods that don’t bring you pleasure?
Eat a snack before you leave home. If you arrive at a party starving, you’ll be more likely to overindulge.
Eat your calories instead of drinking them. Stick to lower calorie or calorie-free drinks (diet sodas, water, light beer or wine spritzer) instead of punches, eggnog’s, and mixed drinks, which can have up to 500 calories per cup! Remember what too much sugar can do to our bodies?!
When you are the host or hostess, include nutritious and lower-calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats on the menu. When you are a guest, bring along a lower-calorie dish to share.
Try not to hang out near the food. Find a comfortable spot across the room and focus on people instead of eating.
Drop out of the “clean plate club”. Leave a few bites behind every time you eat,
especially if you are eating something you don’t really care for. *Remember it takes 20 min from the time you start eating for your body to send signals to your brain for the fullness factor.
Try to keep your goal top of mind and think about how hard you have worked to get to this point! Don’t throw in the towel and say “oh, I’ll start again January 1 st” because if you gain 10lbs (that’s right, it’s possible) over the holidays, it could take you an extra month just to get back to where you were with your weight loss.
Need some accountability during the holidays? Contact us and we can help you stay on track!
