Surviving the Holidays: 4 Tips to maintain your weight and your sanity
Happy Holidays!!
Hoping you will find joy and peace as we wind down this year.
Here are some holiday eating and lifestyle tips that are not just for your body, but also your mind.
My first holiday tip is to help you not overeat during the holiday meals.
Holiday Tip #1 is to not get too hungry. Yes, EAT during the day. Don’t skip eating leading up to the big meal. Many people want to “eat their hearts out” at the holiday meal so they won’t eat much during the day. Some of us are actually so busy preparing, we don’t take time to eat.
Restricting our eating can:
Make us eat too much later
Affect blood sugar and hormones
Make us feel weak and jittery
Increase anxiety
Make us feel bloated when we do eat.
Restricting is also not good for us mentally. You do not need to earn your holiday meal.
Stay on your schedule and eat the way you normally eat so when you go to fill your holiday meal plate, your gut and your brain are in sync.
Choose the most nutrient dense foods first like turkey, vegetables and salad. You can have smaller portions of the foods that may not have as many nutrients and more sugar. Sugar and bread can be the smallest portions. Many people have a very satisfying meal without including those sugary foods. It’s all about your personal goals.
Plan ahead. If you want to eat one plate, eat very slowly and mindfully so you are still eating when others get up for seconds.
If you don’t want to offend people or you really do want to try everything, put a small amount on your plate and take a couple of bites.
Mosy of all, this is a time of connection. ENJOY your food. Enjoy the time of breaking bread with friends and family.
Holiday Health Tip #2
Let’s talk about water and alcohol. No, not as a mixed drink. Separately.
It is so important to hydrate all day long. All….day....long.
Dehydration can cause many issues and make it even harder to stick to your weight maintenance plan.
When we don’t drink enough water, we feel lethargic. This can also lead to feeling depressed and anxious. Both of those will cause us to reach for food to feel better. We will reach for sugary and fatty foods first to get that dopamine hit. Then we regret it.
This can also happen when we are filling up our plate during the holiday meal.
Dehydration also sends a signal for us to eat because our cells need water. Unfortunately, our cells don’t send the exact words...”Drink water”. Many times when we think we are hungry, we are thirsty.
Now...on to alcohol.
It’s nice to have a glass of wine with dinner or drink a beer during the festivities, but keep track.
Some studies show people who drink alcohol before eating consume approximately 300 more calories than those who don’t drink alcohol before the meal.
Alcohol lowers inhibitions and makes it more difficult to make healthy choices and helps us say things out loud we may not normally say. That could interesting with relatives.
Again, it is a special time so enjoy if you can do it without feeling bad.
Holiday Health Tip #3 Get moving!
During the holidays, keep up with your exercise routine. It will keep your energy levels up, help stabilize your blood sugar and help with digestion. Even if you just feel like walking, it will get you outside in the fresh air.
Why exercise on vacation?
You don’t have to start up again in the new year.
Taking care of yourself will help you take care of everyone else and enjoy the time together more.
Endorphins will brighten your mood and help with holiday and family stress.
Many people find they don’t want to ruin their exercise goals by eating poorly.
The whole family will benefit from fresh air and activity! It also gets everyone away from the TV.
Holiday Tip #4 Reduce stress
How strange is it the most fun time of the year is also the most stressful?
Here are some tips to get through the holidays without losing your mind.
Do an expectations check. Be realistic with how much you put on yourself. Delegate where you can. Shop online if that helps.
Managing expectations with family and how things will go is important. When family gets together, sometimes buttons get pushed. Love those around you and let them be themselves. Appreciate the time you have.
Dinner may not be perfect, people may not show up on time and people may not act as you expect them to. Being flexible will make you and everyone around you happier.
Do the best you can and know you may not please everyone.
Slow down. We think it all has to get done and right now. Be present in all that you do whether it’s shopping, planning, being with family, eating and working out. If you are hurried, things happen like injury, eating poorly or having to do something again. That causes even more stress..
Keep to your routine and schedule as much as possible, but be flexible. If you can still work out, eat well and get sleep, do it. If things get messed up with people visiting or having fun plans, go with it. You will get back on it the next day, The key is...get back on it the next day.
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Alone time and breathing is so important. It’s hard during the holidays to get a couple minutes alone. You need alone time to breathe, meditate, come back to neutral and be ready to get back with the family. Take a short walk, go into the bathroom to breath for a few minutes (my favorite escape), take a nap...anything that’s gives you time to reset. Even a few deep breaths will help calm you and bring you back to appreciating the love, family and holiday events. If you can get 5-10 minutes a couple times day, even better.
Lastly, expressing gratitude helps reduce stress immediately.
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday.
Merry Christmas!
XOXO,
Kim