The Holiday season can be synonymous with binge eating and sugar overloads but it doesn’t have to be. Cookies, chocolates and creams may taste really good but most of us can often forget how a holiday super binge can leave you feeling bloated, sluggish and/or sick. Different people have different methods for handling the holidays and the foods associated with them, but all the approaches fall on a scale of strictly avoiding foods you wouldn’t normally eat to full-on gorging on everything in sight. Over the years I’ve fallen in different places on this spectrum but from my experience I can offer the advice of going into the holiday season with a plan, and balance is better.
Obviously eating according to your normal diet is the healthiest option nutritionally but it’s also hard to maintain. Strictly avoiding all holiday fun foods can lead to an unwanted binge further down the road. That’s why I used a balanced approach to this holiday season. In the balanced approach I enjoy some holiday specials in moderation without going overboard to the point of discomfort or effecting my physical performance. To do this I plan ahead. For example if I know I’m going to be having a slice of my aunt’s delicious pumpkin pie at dinner I make sure to minimize my sugar intake at others meals to keep my daily sugar intake close normal. Or if I’m going to a potluck I volunteer to bring a vegetable or other healthy dish so that I know there will be something for me to eat.
The other thing I do is choose wisely what I’d like to indulge in and what I can skip. For example, I’m not a big sugar cookie fan so when those are on the dessert menu I opt out, but I do enjoy gingerbread so will eat a gingerbread cookie at a special event. I also monitor my portions by eating one small cookie and moving on. If this is hard for you -I have two small tricks you can try. First, move away from the dessert table, out of sight – out of mind. Second, have a glass of water, celery stick or other hydrating vegetable to get the sugar taste out of your mouth and help decrease cravings.
Lastly, it’s important to still eat the healthy fats and proteins you need to fuel your body. Above you can see my breakfast from Christmas morning. We have a Christmas morning tradition where my mom makes this tasty french toast bake – I really like it and more importantly enjoy the tradition – so following the tips above I balanced it into my diet. I kept my breakfast mostly the same – eggs, fruit, a little bacon, but replaced my oatmeal with the french toast. A more sugary breakfast than usual but not a radical departure. I enjoyed a small portion of our Christmas classic along with a good dose of protein and healthy fat, had a glass of water and moved on with my day. The holidays can make keeping a healthy diet harder but with planning and awareness you can have a happy and healthy holiday. Remember the holidays are about more than just food so do what feels right to you but also respect your body and feed it with the fuel it needs to enjoy the season.
Fed and Fueled 