04 Dec Staying Healthy During the Holidays
The holiday season has officially started! Here’s a Mom’s guide to making it through the holidays:
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Staying Healthy During the Holidays
By Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE, CEDRD, CDN
- Be the Tupperware Lady– bring Tupperware to family events to pack leftovers or “seconds” and bring home to eat another time.
- Rather than overeat on delicious food, plan to use hunger fullness cues. Pack the remainders up for a mini holiday dinner part II.
- Healthy Cook Book Exchange (rather than cookie exchange)
- Holidays typically revolve around gifts and food, so why not give a gift about being healthy and moderate? Healthy cookbook ideas are the Mayo Clinic Williams – Sonoma Cookbook and Martha Stewart’s Healthy Quick Cook
- Favor family over food– make festivities about seeing family and not about eating food.
- Serve a simple meal and focus on entertainment like music and or trivial pursuit.
- Stretch your dollar, save your waist – Use Intuitive Eating to portion your restaurant meal.
- Be economical and bring leftovers home to eat at the next day’s snack or meal.
- Eat your favorite food– skip the appetizers and save room for dinner.
- If dessert is your favorite, don’t fill up on apps and entrees. Make sure you are still hungry for your chocolate cake!!
- Secure a snack– before leaving make sure you are not starving, eat a snack to prevent overeating at the party.
- Restriction cause binging, don’t restrict the day of a special event. You are likely to overeat or even binge later that night.
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- Restriction cause binging, don’t restrict the day of a special event. You are likely to overeat or even binge later that night.
- Wine, beer and liquor on a full belly. If you drink on an empty stomach you are more likely to make poor decisions and overeat.
- Take your sip of wine with your entrée. If you drink on an empty stomach you will not be mindful of your internal or external cues.
- Most importantly, don’t drink and drive.