Have Yourself a Healthy Holiday - Part 3
Have Yourself a Healthy Holiday - Part 3
December 09, 2014 at 9:16 AM
What about alcohol, you may ask? I am not going to tell you not to drink, although I think it best not to imbibe. Alcohol not only adds calories, but it also leads you to over-eat. If you were planning on a day of healthy eating, alcohol may ruin those plans.
Dessert and dieting don't usually go together, for good reason. This is especially true during the holiday season. I know that the holidays only come around once a year, but you have to ask yourself if some of these deserts are worth your calories and all the hard work you have put in thus far while dieting. You could always consider a Chocolate Dream Bar, or Strawberry Cheesecake protein bar as an alternative to a dessert. If you are planning on treating yourself during the holiday season, then go with this one rule... choose 1 or 2 foods (not necessarily desserts) that you know you want to try. This will help satisfy your craving, but also allow you to remain at or below your calorie goal. You should NEVER go to a party with expectations of eating every festive treat, because chances are you will. If you have multiple holiday parties to attend, pick which ones you will indulge at (if you choose to). If you were to indulge at every single party, it is likely you will gain weight. Your best bet would be to bring all of your packets with you and try to eat as many as you can. You can even take your packets of Walden Farms Dressing to limit the calories in your salad.
Leftovers are also a great idea. It gives you the chance to take some food home so you don't feel obligated to try every dish served at the party. My only suggestion is to make sure you don't take leftovers of any food you know will be a trigger for you. For example, don't take a plate of cookies home with you, but rather some extra turkey from Thanksgiving.
Don't let dieting scare you away from having a good time during the holiday season. Although food is a big part, try to focus on something nonfood related that you really enjoy about the holiday season. It's important to remember that there is no such thing as a perfect holiday. This means that you might not follow your diet perfectly, you might not give or get the perfect gift, and you may not throw or attend the perfect party. Perfection is a high standard to set which will cause a lot of stress during the holidays. If you start to feel stressed remember that you have the option to exercise to burn off some steam. Exercise is especially crucial during the holiday season. Although timing gets hard when it comes to cooking and preparing for a party, it is important to get some cardio exercise in the day before and the day after a big party or the days before or after an indulgence.
DID YOU KNOW?
The supplement CLA required on the diet actually helps reduce body fat! Especially during the holiday season! CLA (the supplement in the black bottle) is a naturally occurring dietary fatty acid that has been found to reduce fat mass and weight gain. In this double-blind placebo controlled study in the International Journal of Obesity, it was found that "CLA supplementation among overweight adults significantly reduced body fat over 6 months and prevented weight gain during the holiday season."
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