Holiday Health: Simple Tips to Stay on Track While Enjoying the Festivities

It’s that time of the year when Mariah Carey is blasting over the radio, the night is lit up by festive lights and you get the intense feeling of excitement for seeing friends and family all in one place! Even though the holiday season is a festive time, I know that it can cause anxiety in regards to being able to stay on track with your health goals. Just because it is the holidays, does not mean that your health goals are doomed! By incorporating just one or two of these tips into your holiday season, you can stay consistent towards the goals you’ve been striving to achieve all year.

1. FILL HALF YOUR PLATE WITH VEGETABLES: Your stomach has stretch receptors that signal the body that you are full once the stomach has been stretched to a significant size. By filling half of your plate with vegetables, you are able to signal these stretch receptors while eating minimal calories.
2. BRING A HEALTHY DISH TO THE PARTY: Whether it’s a meal or a snack, bring a healthy dish that you will actually eat to the party to ensure that you have at least one food item that helps you towards your health goals. Keep in mind that fresh is always better than processed food items. I recommend a vegetable platter with hummus or one of my recipes from my free recipe e-book that you can download here.
3. ALTERNATE WITH WATER: Aim to have a glass of water between each beverage you drink. This allows you to not only stay hydrated, but limit the number of calories you are consuming from your beverages.
4. TUNE INTO YOUR HUNGER CUES: If your body is telling you that you are full, stop eating. Eat slower to allow your body time to process what you have just eaten and also savor the flavors of each dish.
5. TAKE JUST A SPOONFUL: Do you want to try a dish that does not match up with your health goals? That is completely okay! I recommend taking a spoonful of anything that you want to try and avoid going back for seconds.
6. STAY ACTIVE: At the end of the day, you cannot exercise your way through a bad diet. However, being active will allow you to continue towards your health goals, while simultaneously allowing you to create a small buffer for those times where you eat maybe a little more than what you intended. I recommend at minimum resistance training at least 2-3x per week and walking at least 10,000 steps daily. Joining group fitness classes is also a great way to stay active while adding socialization into the mix. See what classes your local area has to offer!

The biggest advice I can give is to remember that THE HOLIDAYS SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON FAMILY AND FRIENDS NOT FOOD. If you overeat one day out of thirty, that’s not going to derail you from your health goals. Add these simple tips to your holiday eating, but remember to focus on what is truly important during the holiday season.