The Holidays – a wonderful time of joy, love, thankfulness, celebrating, family, friends, and food. Also a time of busy schedules, parties, relatives’ houses, car trips, plane rides, shopping, wrapping, cooking, and a lot of doing. With all of this going on it’s hard to find time to take care of ourselves.
During the holiday season food is everywhere, and usually high-calorie food at that. With the colder weather, less daylight, and our busy schedules it becomes really hard to find time to exercise. Here are a few of this Registered Dietitian’s quick tips to help keep nutrition and exercise in mind during the holiday season.
1. Avoid the ALL or NOTHING mindset
Thinking this way only sets us up to fail and feel really guilty about ourselves. Blanket statements such as “I am going to stay away from all sweets this Christmas” just put more stress on ourselves. The dietitian’s favorite phrase is “everything in moderation” and this certainly applies to this time of year. Remember that it is completely okay to try some of each dessert, but balance that choice by only taking a small piece of each rather than a whole serving of each dessert.
2. Look to maintain weight not lose weight this time of year
Our busier schedules and all those parties with food everywhere don’t make it easy to drop weight. So if you’ve been trying to lose some weight, cut yourself some slack during this season. Look to maintain where your weight is now and pick back up with your weight loss goals in the New Year.
3. Be active
Find a way to be active – go for a long walk, play a game of pick-up football with the family, ride bikes, park further away when shopping, take the stairs over the elevator. Anything that is physically active or keeps the body moving will help burn more calories. Being active will help you stay fit.
4. Watch what you drink
We tend to take in a lot more calories from what we drink than we realize. Keep an eye on how many calories are in those soft drinks, sports drinks, and peppermint mocha lattes. By drinking less of those high-calorie drinks and more water, there will be more room for holiday snacks and sweet treats!
Who says water can’t taste good? Try adding some lemon or lime to give water a flavor boost.
5. Remember fruits + veggies
When serving dinner to your family or when hosting a holiday party, remember to include fruits and vegetables. They make for great appetizers, giving people something to snack on for very little calories.
Enjoy the season, enjoy good food, and remember to eat well for yourself during this special time of year!
These are great tips Lauren, and I hope I’ll be able to abide by some of them! 🙂
Great suggestions.. Veggies are your best friend- Don’t forget to pick up some vegetables, make your holiday look colorful.