Navigate the festive season seamlessly with these healthy tips!
Making good choices can be super difficult during the holidays, especially when our favorite flavors and treats make their appearance only once a year?
How can we possibly be healthy when being surrounded by sugar, cookies, candies, breads, and more? Well, I can tell you it does take some practice but it's definitely possible!
Follow these tips to enjoy yourself while staying on track this year.
Skip the Mindless Treats
Colorful candies and bountiful temptations are all over the place during the holidays: at the office party, passed between neighbors, and at family dinners, for starters. With so many options, the temptation is real.
When shopping, be sure to skip samples and candies and save them for the kids! It will save you unplanned calories and purchases. Your wallet and your gut will thank you!
If you are socializing at dinners or parties, watch out for multiple or "endless" appetizers because you are a lot more likely to eat more food mindlessly in a social environment. Fun conversations and games can easily distract from hunger signals that your body is trying to send.
As for the workplace, just because there are daily options of office sugars and treats, it doesn't mean you need to eat them! If practicing your willpower is a struggle for you, make sure to have a stash of healthy snack options at your desk to munch on instead.
Prepare in Advance
Have plans to eat out? Check out the menu before you go to look for a healthy option. Not only will you be able to look up nutrition facts and dietary restrictions, but your ordering time will be a lot faster, leaving more room for conversations!
If you really don't see any healthy options for that particular restaurant, consider suggesting a healthier place to eat out.
If that is not possible and you don't think you will make good choices, eat something at home first so that you have some fullness and won't be likely to have high hunger cravings.
Choose the Smaller One
Just because particular foods or treats are more abundant and less frequent, it doesn't mean you need to eat double the amount! You can still enjoy your holiday favorites without going over board.
If you're out for a sweet holiday drink or coffee, opt for the small instead of the large. Those holiday drinks can rack up hundreds of calories, and your palate will be just as satisfied with a lesser amount. It is important to enjoy treats as something special, not indulge so much as to get sick on sweets or ruin your goals.
The same goes for meals as well. Make sure to grab the smaller plate instead of a large one. This is a great hack that can help you eat more appropriately because we naturally feel the need to cover free space on our plates. So loading up the small plate full of colorful foods is both more appealing and filling than the same quantity on a larger plate. And don't forget to skip the seconds!
Swap for Healthy Alternatives
You can still meet your seasonal flavor cravings without breaking the calorie bank.
For drinks like lattes and cocoas, if you absolutely have to have them, opt for sugar free on the syrups and swap the milk for a lower fat or plant based version. This is a quick way to reduce calories on tried and true favorites.
If you have the need for pumpkin spice, ginger, or peppermint flavor, it's even better to incorporate them in a more natural way! Add pumpkin spices like ginger, cinnamon, and clove to your oatmeal or use these same spices to create your own pumpkin latte at home. Craving candy canes and chocolate? Try trading the candy canes for peppermint tea or making your own dark chocolate cocoa and peppermint bark!
Making your own foods means more control over additives and calories, and will be much better for you in the long run.
Not only will you be pleasing your taste buds, but you will be eating something nutritious and delicious with half the calories!
Share the Health
The best thing you can do is to share healthy habits with those in your inner circle. Family and friends who can support each other have more longterm success with maintaining good habits and a healthy lifestyle!
For example, if you aren't sure that there will be healthy options at that Christmas party, bring one to share! You will know for sure that there will be at least one thing for you on the menu and even better, you'll be spreading the love! ;)
What Now?
Need more ideas and support during the holidays?
Try competing with your friends and family in a health challenge...before the New Year resolutions come along! There's nothing like a good bit of friendly competition to keep you going, regardless of the time.
As for this holiday season, stay tuned for my newest nutrition challenge: Health for the Holidays, where we will be supporting each other while learning ways to incorporate healthy foods and habits not just for the holidays, but for a lifetime.
What is one way that you can incorporate a healthy habit during the holidays?
Let's talk about it and share below!
When people bring treats I tell myself I can't eat it because I can't eat just one.
Observe good nutrition during holidays: I will focus on portion control including sauces & gravies which contribute to extra calories & fat. Eliminate some & use very minimal of others. Use a healthy substitute if eating @ home. May not be available dining out as a guest or in a restaurant.
We used to have so much food at work during the holidays. There were always treats in the kitchen and at people’s desks, and the teachers would bring us chocolates! I’m so glad I’m retired and not around if any longer.
One of the reasons I like not working in an office! no random baked goods lying around and no office parties!
This is the most challenging season for tasty treats! I do think trying to trick your brain is key with health swaps. Sometimes the need for the real stuff is hard to resist so I do my best to hold off. But can’t lie, a little taste does happen and satisfies the craving. Moderation is key when those cravings kick my brains butt. :) This holiday I am going to do my best to keep to the healthy substitutions.