According to Eat Right, the average American gains 1 to 2 pounds over the holidays. While this might not seem like a lot, research has shown that that weight tends to stick around and accumulate every year.
Looking beyond weight gain, unhealthy eating habits during the holidays can also lead you to feel tired, bloated, and unlike yourself.
If you’re interested in trying to eat healthy during the holidays, check out our 10 quick tips below.
10 Ways to Eat Healthy During the Holidays
1. Practice mindful eating
Mindful eating will help you eat healthily all year around. You can tell you’re mindlessly eating when you snack on food just because it’s there and near you. You can tell when you’re mindfully eating when you’re waiting to feel hungry and then focusing on eating the food you have in front of you. According to Riska Platt, M.S., a registered dietitian and certified nutritionist for the Cardiac Rehabilitation Center at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York. “The key to mindful eating is awareness. Just by paying more attention to what you eat, you’re more likely to make beneficial changes.”
2. Keep a food diary
If you’re looking for a way to hold yourself accountable this holiday season, a food diary is a good way to go. By writing down your food everyday, you are forced to see what you’ve consumed over the course of the day, highlighting any potential sources of weight gain. Part of a food diary is also identifying why you ate the food – which goes back to mindfulness. Did you eat that Christmas cookie because you were hungry or because you were bored?
3. Use a smaller plate
Using a smaller plate at holiday parties or even in your own home does two things. First, it tricks your brain into thinking you’re eating more, since your plate looks full and overflowing. Second, you’ll be eating less simply because you don’t have the room. This is one way you can practice portion control.
4. Start with vegetables
If you’re at a party, go first for the veggie tray. If you’re serving dinner at your house, make a festive salad and add that to your plate first. In general, start with lower calorie items that can still make you feel full before moving onto the more caloric and fattening items that you’re trying to avoid.
5. Avoid holiday drinks
Oftentimes, people forget that sweet Christmas drinks, like hot chocolate, egg nog, and more, can cause weight gain or sugar crashes. As you’re considering what foods to indulge in, stick to drinks like water, sparkling water, or tea. You’ll avoid hundreds of calories and can even feel energetic from being properly hydrated!
6. Eat a healthy breakfast
Start everyday right with a healthy breakfast that will inspire you to continue eating healthily throughout the day and will also prevent overeating later in the day. According to the University of Washington, to make a healthy breakfast you should “ try to choose whole, unprocessed foods from each of the five food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy. Try to include proteins from foods like yogurts (look for varieties with less sugar added), eggs, nuts and seeds or legumes.”
7. Socialize away from the food
During the holidays, it can be nice to sit or stand and chat while snacking! But when you do this, you lose the benefits of mindful eating we mention above. Instead, try to find a spot away from foods you can easily eat mindlessly.
8. Say ‘no’ to food pushers
Does the phrase food pushers bring someone to mind? Maybe multiple someones? Alissa Rumsey, R.D., Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’s one rule is to say no to food pushers. During the holidays, it’s easy to feel like you have to try certain foods because people you love or care for put time into making them. This holiday season, practice saying no to baked goods or dishes that you know you’d rather not eat because you don’t have the room. You can still give them a compliment on the dish and ask to take some home without having to eat more right then and there.
9. Make an effort to stay active
Make sure to include exercise in your daily routine during the holidays. Keeping active not only keeps the calories off but also takes your mind off the wonderful food that’s waiting for you, wherever you may be. So between cookies, try to go out and walk with your family or carve time out for yourself ahead of big meals to make sure you’ve worked your body. Just be cautious of over-rewarding yourself for physical activity! Exercise is not a free pass to eat whatever you want, but it is a good habit to incorporate into your holiday schedule.
10. Indulge yourself – guilt-free!
When you eat healthy during the holidays, it doesn’t mean you have to deprive yourself of your favorite foods! It means practicing moderation and mindfulness. Lisa Moskovitz, R.D., CEO of NY Nutrition Group, said, “Feeling guilty after eating foods you don’t usually allow yourself to eat can breed more unhealthy behaviors. So abandon those negative voices in your head, give yourself permission to enjoy the indulgence guilt-free, and then remember to get back on track with your normal eating routine the very next day.”
Wishing you good health and happy holidays!
From our family to yours, we wish you good health and happy holiday celebrations! As you look at 2021, we hope you will consider making us your primary care provider for the new year. To make an appointment, call (800) 321- 5043.
Resources:
- https://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating/eat-healthy-during-holidays#snack-before-party
- http://www.eatright.org/resource/health/lifestyle/holidays/a-healthy-approach-to-holiday-eating
- https://www.washington.edu/wholeu/2017/03/06/what-does-a-healthy-breakfast-look-like/
- https://greatist.com/eat/holiday-healthy-eating-tips
- https://healthyforgood.heart.org/eat-smart/articles/holidays-healthy-eating-guide
