Do not let the upcoming Holidays serve as an excuse to “fall off the wagon” with your regular eating habits. It’s too easy to add 5 – 6 lbs or more with all of the extra cookies, cakes, sweets, etc that will be passed around at Holiday parties and get togethers. Below are 13 great diet strategies to help keep off the dreaded holiday weight gain.
Here are numerous ways to help prevent overeating at the dinner table during the Holiday Season. A little splurging is, of course, OK but know when to say when. Otherwise that tearing sensation might be your pants serving as an overload warning!
1.) Get In Some High-Intensity Activity Before and/or After a Big Meal or Holiday Feast
I know, I know. I promised diet strategies, but I simply cannot go without recommending some sort of exercise. Your body is most receptive to higher calorie and/or carbohydrate meals within 30 minutes before and within three hours following high-intensity activity. Ideally you would want to workout out before AND after a big meal, but if you can only do one, that will suffice. It is less important when you do it and more important that you do it. Your best options will be 20 minutes of circuit resistance training or cardio interval training. Even a 20-30 plus minute walk a few hours afterwards can serve as a bit of damage control.
2.) Do NOT Fast in Preparation for a Big Meal or Holiday Feast
Fasting is a big mistake for a few reasons. Our energy levels drop, we lose muscle tissue, our metabolism slows down and we end up what I call “skinny –fat”. Do yourself and your body a favor by eating every two to four hours as you normally would to prevent yourself from becoming a ravenous, fat-storing beast this holiday season!
3.) Do NOT Overdo It
Eat until the point of satisfaction, not discomfort. You can always have more later. The food will not keep up and walk away. Eat a little. Take a break. Repeat. People who are lean do not make a habit out of overeating. It is imperative to understand that that holiday meals are not a ticket to eat as much as you can in as little time as possible. However, listen to your body and make sure to enjoy the foods you are craving in moderation and only eat when you are hungry.
4.) Eat a High-Fiber, Protein-Rich Meal An Hour Before a Holiday Event
Have a protein drink. Have some all natural peanut butter. Or a handful of raw almonds. By having a meal that is protein based, you will help prevent overeating by making your body feel more full which in turn means less calories consumed during the ensuing feast. My favorite strategy is to drink a protein shake with added fiber and healthy fats (e.g. 2-4 Tbsp. flax meal) and 1 liter of water before such a meal to help keep me nice and full upon arrival. This way you won’t lose any friends by eating their entire dinner platter and you’ll save your midsection from a fluffier existence!
5.) Eat Lean Proteins, Fruits and Vegetables FIRST
Try the 8 bites of healthy food, 1 bite of not so healthy food method. The ratio is 8 to 1. For every 8 bites of healthy food that you take, you can have 1 bite of desert. Have fun with it. Make sure to load up on healthier food choices first and try to eat as much lean meat, fish, and fruits and veggies as possible at the start of each holiday event. This will leave less room for the unhealthier, higher calorie treats. At least this way you know your body is getting in some good nutrition and you are not putting yourself at excessive risk for sickness and/or other health concerns.
6.) Drink, Drink, Drink Water!
Carry a water bottle in your car and on your person wherever you go. Drinking water will keep you fuller, give you more energy and make you feel better. At least it does for me. For every plate of food that you eat, try to drink at least 1-2 glasses of water. After that second plate, when you have 1 full liter of water in your stomach, I bet you might just be ready to get away from the dining table for a while!
7.) Do NOT Eat Again Until Hungry Following a Large Meal
It’s easy to socialize and reach for the pralines. It’s fun to try all of the sweets that Aunt Martha has been baking and stockpiling for over a month now. Now I know I already told you to eat every 2-4 hours, but there is one exception to this. If you eat a huge meal, it is important not to eat again until you are hungry and/or no longer full.
If your body is not used to eating such a big meal, then it will take a much longer time to digest all that food and the worst thing you can do is put more food into an already full stomach, unless you goal is to do the stop, drop, and roll drill. Only when you are hungry again should you resume your normal eating plan following a big holiday meal. Also, after a big meal, look for a few bites of fresh pineapple or papaya. These 2 fruits contain digestive enzymes that should help to make that full feeling go away more quickly.
8.) Back On Track To Your Regular Eating Habits
You probably will be ready to eat less and feel better after gorging at that one big meal. Remember weekly caloric intake is far more important than daily caloric intake. For example, let’s say that you need 2800 calories per day to maintain your current body weight.
Well, all that you need to do is make sure the average daily caloric intake each week is 2800 calories per day. This means that you can fluctuate your daily caloric intake and yield the same results as if you ate that same amount each day. So if you have one day of big eating where you eat 9,000 calories (just an example, not a recommendation), but you only eat 2,000 calories per day the rest of the week, you will still end up at the same caloric balance.
Again, I am not recommending that you eat in such an extreme manner; rather I am suggesting that you do not have to obsess about being perfect. Enjoy some indulging in moderation at your various holiday festivities knowing that the week in review trumps a day in review, even when you are particularly naughty on any given day.
9.) Never Eat Junk Food Before Bed
This could be the worst thing to do. You’re on the couch relaxing, the dishes are clean, the house is quiet and your emotional eating buttons have been activated. You reach for the left over chocolate chip pecan pie, then the vanilla ice cream, then the egg nog…STOP IT!
Eating at night will make your blood sugar levels go crazy for the rest of the day resulting in greater junk food cravings and uncontrollable hunger. Plus all of those unused calories will most likely be stored as body fat! This is not the way to reach our fitness goals.
10.) Control your Portions
Try to eat only two thirds of all the servings on your plate of unhealthy food that you choose. Two thirds of the portions equal only two thirds of the calories!
11.) Avoid Empty Liquid Calories and Alcohol
One can easily consume over 1,000 calories per day from liquid calories alone. This means that in one week, you can gain 2 lbs of body fat from just fluids! Instead choose regular food calories. Sugary juices and/or alcoholic drinks will blunt fat burning and wreak havoc on your metabolism.
Furthermore, your body cannot burn fat until the liver processes the poisonous alcohol out of your body. Thus over-consumption of alcohol can prevent the fat burning process from resuming until several days later and/or even cause unwanted fat gain and thus set you back as little as a few days to as long as a full week!
12.) Substitute Whenever Possible
Instead of using sugar, substitute with zero calorie alternatives like splenda or stevia. They can deliver a similar taste without all of the extra sugar and calories. Your goal should be to find the minimal amount of calories that can provide the same great taste that makes the holiday treats enjoyable rather than simply overdoing it because you can!
13.) Avoid Them Like The Plague
One of the worst things that we can do is to eat a meal that is high in both fat and carbohydrates. The high amount of carbs will lead to a rapid increase in blood sugar levels and thus large increases in the potent fat-storing hormone Insulin. The high amount of fat will lead to a large increase in free fatty acids in your bloodstream.
Since Insulin is already present in large amounts, in addition to there being a large amount of free fatty acids now available in your blood, the stage is set for all those free fatty acids to be gobbled up and stored by your fat cells. This is the equivalent of becoming the next New Years Day float, so it is imperative to use caution at your holiday meals when it comes to combining fat (particularly saturated and trans fats) and carbs (particularly starches and refined sugars). In general, it is best to choose one over the other.
But since most people crave carbs at their free meals, it is essential to keep the fat low at this meal. Want pasta? Instead of alfredo sauce, opt for marinara sauce with whole grain pasta. Want pizza? Make your own pizza with whole grain crust and fat-free cheese. Want mashed potatoes? Well then be sure to skip the gravy and go easy on the butter.
These small changes can literally save you hundreds, even thousands of calories, and more importantly will prevent your holiday feasts from creating the optimal fat-storing environment that will set you back from achieving your health and fitness goals.
