In the world of unhealthy eating, we are really in the thick of it right now. Halloween came and went, and for the lucky ones, you escaped with just a few pieces of extra candy throughout your days, while the rest of us have had to experience what a jack o’lantern of candy feels like in our guts over the last three weeks. The December holidays and the millions of holiday parties that accompany them are approaching and this week is Thanksgiving which means if you don’t leave the table dreaming of sweatpants, you clearly aren’t doing it right. All that being said, the most important time of the year for nutrition is right now. If you go into the holidays with the mentality of “screw it, any healthy eating I wanted to do is coming undone and New Year’s is right around the corner so I’ll start over then”-then you will never learn to get through the holidays (or any other challenging times) eating well. Don’t let Thanksgiving break you this year….here are my top tips as we approach the holidays:
- The appetizer round is a tough one as it’s usually the one filled with the fattiest, saltiest, creamiest, sugariest dishes. Best bet, have a good snack like nuts or an RX bar before you get to the party and skip the apps OR wander over to the lonely vegetable platter and introduce yourself. If that puff pastry brie wedge or scallops wrapped in bacon are calling your name, that’s fine—just make sure that they all fit on one cocktail napkin or appetizer plate. With such a limited amount of space, it will force you to think about which foods you really want while not feeling as though you are depriving yourself (which can lead to overeating).
- Move conversations away from the kitchen (or wherever the food is). If you stand by the food, you will mindlessly eat the food. Stand far away from the food.
- Timing is everything. If you know Thanksgiving dinner is at 3pm, have your last snack/appetizer/whatever at 12:30pm. You don’t want to stuff yourself silly before the meal, and then stuff yourself even further during the meal. Give yourself time to digest between meals. Prepare for Thursday (or any holiday) by planning out roughly when your meal times will be. Set a time for breakfast, then 2.5-3hrs after that plan for another meal/snack, 2.5-3hrs after that another snack/meal. And limit your eating to those times you designated for yourself.
- When you sit down for the big meal, make sure ½ your plate is veggies, ¼ starch, ¼ protein. Potatoes, peas, and corn all count as starches not vegetables. And eat the veggies on your plate first.
- Take a 10 minute walk (or more) right after a big meal, it lowers blood sugar and helps with digestion.
- BREATHE! Holidays can be stressful, whether you’re fighting traffic or some family member. Best way to combat this is to focus on deep breathing during the day (or several times depending on the traffic/family member). When we are stressed, our body releases cortisol (aka the “stress hormone”) and while this is great for the rush of adrenaline needed to fight off a predator, it can wreak havoc on our body. One of the side effects of the release of cortisol is that it spikes your blood sugar, which means that once this drops, you will be craving those fatty, sugary, foods and not the healthy stuff. So, if you feel yourself getting worked up, just breathe—after all it’s the most wonderful time of the year!
