I don’t know about you but I am like most people and I find the weight I lost over the summer and fall during the holiday season from November through Christmas. It is difficult to stay on a half way decent healthy diet when all the sweet stuff is calling your name! Still, it is possible to enjoy the holidays and still taste some of the forbidden fruit while eating healthy and avoiding the holiday weight gain that most experience.
Traditional holiday foods can be prepared to be low fat in most cases. For example, the turkey that just about everyone has for thanksgiving or Christmas dinner is extremely lean if you remove the skin and you can make a lean gravy to go over it as well. Potatoes are very good for you, until you load them up with butter and sour cream. Even pumpkin pie can be made to be healthy and nutritious if you forego the mound of whipped cream.
One of the other reasons that people gain a lot of weight over the holidays is because they decide to skip out on exercise. Half the battle of keeping the pounds off during the holidays is regular exercise, and maybe even a little extra to get rid of those extra calories you are taking in. It is a good habit to get into taking a walk after every meal and do some extra walking when you go shopping, park way out instead of looking for the closest spot. Not only will this help you to reduce your weight but it will reduce stress as well.
When it comes to the food itself, fill up on things like fresh vegetables, fruits and lean meat. That way you won’t have the room to even feel like eating all the fattening desserts and you will choose a tiny sliver of pie instead of choosing a quarter of the whole pie.
Alcohol is another big culprit for excess calories and in addition to the empty calories it takes away your will to diet and also will make you eat more. Make sure that you choose water instead which will keep you from adding all the extra calories as well as help you to feel more full. Try to totally avoid eggnog which is loaded with belly building calories and fat.
You don’t have to be super strict to the point of not enjoying the holidays, just remember to eat in moderation and limit the fatty foods to not much more than a taste, balancing that with some additional exercise and you will avoid the holiday bulge.
Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about holiday cooking and easy appetizers online at gourmetpartyappetizersdotcom