With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it marks the start of the holiday party season. For many it’s that time to break out the baggy sweaters and stretchy pants, trying a piece of everything at holiday parties and family gatherings and drinking those sugary holiday coffees, mixed drinks and more…If you want to avoid the baggy sweaters and stretchy pants this year, check out the tips below!
How to Survive the Holidays:
- Exercise – workout that morning!
- Whether you can jump over to the gym, squeeze in an at-home workout, or get in some shoveling, cleaning, or just get yourself moving, do something that morning before the festivities begin.
- Eat a solid breakfast – so many people I know avoid having anything early in the day because they want to “save room” for everything they plan to eat that afternoon.
- Eat a well rounded breakfast – protein, veggies, and some carb source.
- Getting a meal in early in the day, you’ll avoid being hangry and over-indulging when it’s time to sit down for the dinner.
- Drink your Water – have a glass of water with you, wherever you go, may it be the kitchen, dining room, living room, I don’t care – have your water.
- Drinking plenty of water will help you to avoid snacking too much on appetizers before the main meal.
- H2O helps to give the feeling of being full = avoidance of food overload early in the day.
- Go in with a plan – who walks into their family’s house on the Holiday and goes straight to the food table to see what’s available? 🙋
- Not a bad thing to do…scope out what the food table has to offer – what are the options for appetizers? What’s going along with the main meal?
- Choose 2-3 appetizers, put them on a plate, grab your water and walk away from the table of food.
- Know your portion sizes – and create a well-rounded plate
- For your main meal, hit the macros — protein, carbs, veggies — don’t overload the plate with carbs, majority should be veggies.
- Pay attention to how much of each you’re putting on your plate
- It does NOT need to be a mountain of food — fill your plate, but if you have to start stacking foods on top of each other, it’s too much…
- If there is a lot of food and you want a bit of everything, take small portions/samplings of them…
- If there’s something on the table that doesn’t interest you, do not put it on your plate.
- Take your time to eat – when you eat too fast, your brain is unable to recognize that you’ve consumed a certain amount of food and signal that you’re full.
- Between bites, put your fork/spoon down and drink a bit of water.
- Give yourself time between the main meal and deciding on seconds or making your way to the dessert table.
- Sugary Drinks & Alcohol – eggnog, White Russians, punches, mochas, etc…calories add up quickly! Be conscious of what & how much of these sugary/alcoholic drinks you’re consuming.
- Desserts – I’m sure there will be a table filled with pies, cookies, etc.
- Go in with a plan. Look to see what’s there.
- Grab a small plate or napkin, and choose 1-2 items…do not overload the plate!
- Choose wisely…don’t waste your time (or carbs) on the ones that don’t impress you all that much.
- Where’s your water?
- Leftovers – if you can, avoid them all together. If you can’t choose wisely which ones you agree to take (i.e. turkey/ham, veggies, etc. over 1/2 of a pie)
Happy Thanksgiving!🦃
Please follow and like us:
