How to Keep Your Holiday Eating Under Control
The holidays are among us once more providing a huge array of delicious food to tempt us. Following a few easy tricks will help keep your healthy habits in check.
First and foremost, don’t let the whole holiday be about the food. The holidays are a time to gather with family and friends and give thanks for the all the wonderful people in your life and the various things that have happened this year. Instead of setting up camp near the appetizers, walk around and talk to family and friends that you haven’t seen since last Thanksgiving. Make a point of talking to every person present at least twice. If your perspective is focused on gathering with those that you love instead of the food, staying health-conscious is mere maintenance.
It can be difficult, especially at Thanksgiving, to watch your portions and use healthy substitutes in your food, but it’s not impossible! Reducing the amount of oil and butter you use is a great way to shave off some unnecessary calories. Also, using substitutes for commonly used ingredients, such as using whole-grain bread in your stuffing instead of white, and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Cooking the stuffing outside of the turkey is also a good idea when trying to reduce unwanted calories. Also, when dishing up, get the salads and veggies first and then fill the rest of your plate with the other goodies. Lastly, go easy on the alcohol and don’t eat the bean casserole - casseroles are often a popular way of making a perfectly healthy vegetable side dish unhealthy. Most importantly, STOP EATING WHEN YOU’RE FULL!
Something that can be difficult during the holidays is getting and staying active. Planning a post meal walk with your family is a great way to burn some of those extra Thanksgiving calories and spend a little extra time with the people you love. For the next morning, instead of heading to Target for the 3 a.m. Black Friday sales, plan a workout date and burn off those extra calories. Pre-planning something like this will help ensure that you put those extra calories to good use. Lastly, volunteering to help clean up at the end of the meal not only helps out your loved ones but gets you off your feet, moving around, and away from the leftovers on the table.
With these tips and tricks, you will be sure to have some of the easiest and healthiest holidays you’ve had. And from our family to yours, have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!
