Candy canes, chocolate, hot cocoa with mini marshmallows, and an endless amount of gingerbread and sugar cookies! You may be thinking, how do I not eat all of these treats?!
This holiday, I would like you to take a different spin on the way you are going to eat.
Instead of:
- Dreading the after math feeling.
- Thinking you’ve just thrown away all your progress.
- Feeling like you need to eat.
- Having it in your head that the holidays are going to TAKE OVER YOUR WHOLE LIFE!
Take a moment to read this blog about changing your mindset towards holiday eating!
Now, let’s start this off right. You dam right deserve those real sugar cookies that come around once a year!
So, let’s get started!
1. Eat Mindfully
Before you indulge in all that delicious holiday food and dessert, pause and pick an ACTION or two in the image above. Use these actions, or others you can think of, to allow yourself to break the cycle you are about to fall into of eating without thinking, overeating, eating too fast, feeling too full, or having too much dessert.
Ask yourself:
- Do I really need to put all of this food on my plate?
OR
- Is a reasonable portion of what I’m truly craving going to suffice?
When we allow ourselves to break from that rush of excitement for even 2-5 minutes, we give our mind some time to breath and connect to how our stomachs are really feeling. When we see and smell good looking and tasty food our satiety levels automatically increase! So next time you’re about to dig into a big holiday meal, or get overwhelmed by some good-looking treats, try one of the actions above so you can enjoy what you eat and feel good afterwards as well!
2. Hand Portions
PUT AWAY THAT SCALE AND MEASURING CUPS! As a general guide, by quickly looking at your hand to judge how much food you are putting on your plate, you will be doing one extra positive step to help you control, but still enjoy your holiday eating.
3. Prep Veggies!
Try to have a focus of vegetables for your holiday meal. **Key tip to make sure you get enough vegetables on your plate: put them on your plate first! When you put your vegetables on your plate first, it leaves less room for other foods, instead of the other way around. Try to fill your plate half full of vegetables/ 2 fist.
Now, I know what you are thinking.
- What vegetables?
- How do I prepare them?
- How do I make them taste good?
Check out this infographic on 3 Steps for Prepping (and loving) your Veggies by precision nutrition. https://www.precisionnutrition.com/dont-like-vegetables-infographic
This will help you easily make some veggies to add to your meal in 3 simple steps!
4. Stay Active
Just because it is the holidays, it doesn’t mean that you need to ditch the workout routine. Now, you may not be able to stick to it as strictly or workout for a whole hour. But I bet you can make 10 minutes, yes only 10 minutes to get moving and get a workout in!
So, now that you are convinced you have 10 minutes to set aside in your day, check out this infographic on How to Stay in Shape when you’re Busy by Precision Nutrition: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/how-to-stay-in-shape-when-youre-busy-infographic
This is a workout that can be done anywhere and anytime at home to help you break a quick sweat in and around cooking, baking, online gift shopping, wrapping, and much more!
There you have it! 4 strategies and tips that you can easily try to help you eat until satisfied, control your portions, have some healthy veggies, keep moving with a quick workout, and still enjoy some yummy treats!
The holidays don’t need to be perfect. Just like any other day, focus on small actions that you can do, to make you feel just that little bit better and healthier!
