Nutrition Nugget: Holiday How-To without Halting Your Progress
Bite-sized reads for your health and your waistline
The holidays: a time for love, comfort, family, friends and FOOD. Let’s face it, the holidays are one of the most tempting times when it comes to delicious goodies and they easily entice us to quickly stray from our path to wellness (and weight loss). Between the sweethearts on Valentine’s Day and the chocolate on Easter, it’s hard to stay focused! People (including me!) tend to overeat, causing us to feel bloated, frustrated, guilty and everything in between. So, with Valentine ’s Day quickly approaching, I decided to create a sort of “how to: holiday edition.” This short read will tell you all you need to know about how to handle the holidays instead of them handling you!
When approaching a potential holiday crisis, the first thing I tell my clients is this: “decide the outcome you are looking for or willing to accept.” This means that before you even get to planning the holiday festivities, decide how you want to feel when it’s all over. Are you OK seeing an extra pound on the scale? Do you want to stay where you are now? Or do you want to keep progressing and shed a couple of pounds? Do you simply want to focus on improving behaviors, no matter what happens on the scale? This is extremely important, because if you don’t know where you want to go, you won’t know how to get there and you don’t know when you’re there.
Once you decide your desired outcome, ask yourself “what are the steps I need to take to ensure I meet my goal?” If you couldn’t already tell, planning is everything! For example, if it’s Memorial Day, and you’re going to a barbeque, maybe consider bringing a side dish (or even an entrée) that’s a great choice for you. This way, you know for a fact you will be able to choose at least one healthful option. What if your holiday isn’t a potluck? No problem! Focus on protein and veggies from the options that are there. Perhaps eat something before you go so you’re not battling extreme hunger and challenging choices.
When it comes to those cocktails, alternate your drinks: one alcoholic drink then one cup of water. This is a great habit to get into to ensure you are staying hydrated while still partaking in the fun!
The ultimate pro tip? Take some time to plan the day after the holiday. Schedule your workout, know what you’re eating and have it ready. This helps us get right back to “normal” and the holiday doesn’t become a holi-month or a holi-year. (Yikes!)
Overall, the key to this is not deprivation. When you’re thinking about the outcome you want, also think about what you need to do to feel like you truly had this holiday? This is different for each of us and different for each holiday. It could mean, spending time with the family members you only ever see at this particular gathering. Maybe it’s not Easter without a single peep? (Follow-up question: how many peeps do you have to eat to feel like you had them?) Whatever this holiday looks like to YOU, make sure you make that a priority! I call it, “keep the main thing the main thing.” This will ensure you walk away feeling whole and re-energized even though you sacrificed a few old, unhealthy habits.
While we’ve already reviewed a number of tips, there are two vital takeaways: 1) consistency is KING (it may be hard at first but trust me, it gets easier!) and 2) if you are looking for a sweet treat, but not the empty calories, try eating raspberries (or your favorite fruit)! It’s nutritionally beneficial and extremely tasty. Not to mention, they perfectly match the color scheme for Valentine ’s Day!
So whether you are going out to dinner with your special someone, or having a chill galentine’s day at home with the besties, DON’T STRESS! You are equipped with the tools! Sit back, relax, and get to celebrating all the good you have in your life. No need to obsess over a holiday interfering with your wellness. You got this!
