As we head into the holidays many Americans will gain 10lbs between Halloween and New Years Day. However the good news is that there are ways to prevent this weight gain!
Here are some tips:
Eat before you drink and before holiday parties. Going into a holiday party on empty and hungry is a sure-fire way to overeat. Alcohol intake boosts appetite to begin with and if you start out without anything in the tank it just gets worse! This does not mean overeating – eat a sensible meal about 2 hours before you go to the party.
Try to choose higher protein foods
first because protein
helps with satiety (feeling satisfied and not hungry).
Fill up on Fiber Rich Foods – which also help with satiety and
help create a feeling of fullness when consumed with water. Focus on the raw veggies and yes you can dip
them in some dip that has some fat because together fiber and fat can really
assist in managing hunger along with protein.
Eat some fat – that’s right eat some fat! Fats also are key for satiety. That being said a little goes a long way!
Bring your own food to a party.
Rather than having only high calorie, high sugar and high fat foods
bring something you enjoy that is also healthy along with you!
Eat slowly and chew your food
thoroughly – seems
simple and it is. It is also very
effective for limiting food intake!
Use smaller plates, bowls and glasses – all of which help to slow down
food and beverage intake and make you more conscious of how much you are
consuming!
Try to Minimize Sugar and Starch
Intake – both sugar
and starch wind up as glucose (blood sugar) and high intakes drive insulin
which results in rebound hunger. High
sugar and starch intake drives hunger – particularly when drinking alcohol
because alcohol acts like a super sugar and also drives insulin response.
Pause before getting seconds – as with slower eating and
deliberately chewing food this can give your body time to realize it is no
longer really hungry.
If you are hosting an event have
extra Tupperware so you can give away excess foods to guests!
Try not to eat in front of the T.V. which distracts you from how you
feel and results in mindless eating!
Consider planning a cheat meal but
have a plan for how much you are going to eat!
One meal can
knock you off course but most of the holiday weight gain comes from completely
giving up on healthy eating for many meals.
Planning one cheat meal every week and planning on eating a set amount
of the foods you may be craving can work for many people rather than mindlessly
eating. If you plan your meal including
your portions of alcohol, sweets, fat and sugar you can limit the damage and
still have a great time!
Drink Water.
Often quoted and still true - water is the best beverage and avoiding
sugar laden drinks in favor of still or sparkling water can make a big
difference in minimizing holiday weight gain.
Workout!
Working out improves mental outlook and burns some calories while
reducing stress levels! When we are
stressed we overeat! Just 10 minutes a
day can make a big difference!
Get Your Sleep.
Lack of sleep is terrible for your health and particularly bad for
driving appetite and overeating. Lack
of sleep causes hunger and excessive eating because the normal feedback
mechanisms that tell you that you are full do not work properly when you are
tired. Basically, a tired brain tells
you to eat to feel better and it is VERY hard to resist these urges when tired!