HEALTHY THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS (WITHOUT FEELING LIKE YOU’RE ON A DIET)

I hate that January guilt. Where my clothes don’t fit, I feel bloated and I think “why did I eat so much during the holidays?”

Don’t get me wrong, I still want to eat everything, I just don’t want to gain 10 pounds. The truth is this: it’s not only what we eat, but how much of it we eat.

These are the things I’ll be doing this holiday season to avoid going up a pant size and still try all the desserts.

Look At Your Plate

If you’re at a luncheon, a party or at Thanksgiving dinner, it’s normal to want to fill up your plate with all the food available—it’s way better than getting seconds, right? Wrong. What ends up happening is that you’ll eat too much and too fast and by the time you feel full, you feel SUPER full. It takes the stomach about 15 minutes to send the signal to our brain that we’re satisfied. But in those 15 minutes, you already overate, which results in feeling bloated and sluggish afterward.

This is what I propose: serve yourself everything you want to try but in smaller portions, ideally less than what you think you’ll fill up with. Once you finish that plate, wait 15 minutes, think of it as a time to socialize and chat with others. If after those 15 minutes you’re still hungry, have seconds. I promise that 80% of the time you won’t need to have seconds, and you won’t feel extremely full.

Stay Hydrated

Drinking We often confuse hunger with thirst, so make sure you stay hydrated during the holiday season. Drink plenty of water and add variety by drinking water infusions and teas. I recently met the owner of the brand Herbalmate, which are delicious teas designed by two sister herbologists and each tea gives a specific health benefit (sleep, energy, and digestion to name a few). I personally like the Lemongrass, Mint and Eucalyptus tea designed for allergies.

Also, here’s a good holiday water infusion recipe to get extra vitamin C, curb cravings and stay hydrated:

Water

Lemon

Strawberries or pomegranate

Chia seeds (2 tsp)

Don’t Skip Meals

During the holidays it’s common to skip meals to ‘prepare’ for a larger meal. But this is not a good idea. When our blood sugar is low, we tend to overeat and our cravings take over and feel we have no control over our food choices. Have smaller meals and at least one snack, and I promise that during that Thanksgiving dinner you’ll make better food choices and you wont feel guilty about your not-so-good choices.

Have At Least 1 Healthy Meal A Day

This will make you feel like a success. I usually choose breakfast as my healthy meal, since there are very little breakfast events during the holidays. Have a healthy smoothie or a breakfast where you get enough fiber, healthy protein and healthy fats. This will keep you nourished, keep your blood sugar stable, give you the emotional satisfaction that you did something good for your body, and the likelihood of making better food choices increases significantly.

Over to you: which one of these tips will you be trying this holiday season? Let me know! Also, can you do me a favor and send this to a friend you know will like it.

If you struggle with cravings, emotional eating or stress eating I invite you to join my FREE 5-Day Challenge: Reduce Cravings With Positive Psychology. We start on November 5, go HERE to sign up and invite a friend.