Maintaining the right diet and eating healthy can be difficult any time of the year but when the holidays roll around, it gets extremely tough. There are a lot of gatherings that you attend with friends and family (all of which just happen to have a lot of food) and most food during the holidays is notoriously rich and full of butter, cream, and other calorie dense ingredients. When it comes down to healthy habits holidays can make things difficult, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. Here are a few tips to help you enjoy your holiday season while still maintaining health habits:
Planning Is Important
While it is impossible to completely avoid temptation during the holiday season with all of the delicious baked goods and treats, you can balance things out with a little planning ahead of time. Before you go to any type of party or family reunion where you know there will be a lot of food that is full of calories, eat a lighter meal earlier in the day.
While it may sound counterintuitive at first, you may want to have a snack before you arrive, too. Eating a healthy snack that is high in protein will not only keep you feeling full, if you go to a party when you’re extremely hungry there is a higher chance you will overeat.
Watch What You Drink
While there are a lot of delicious foods during the holiday that are rich in calories, there are quite a few drinks that can skyrocket your caloric intake in just a few minutes. Eggnog, for example, will typically have over 200 calories in a single 1-cup serving. Instead of drinking your calories, one of the best things you can do during the holidays is simply stick to water.
If you are raising a toast or simply want to have something other than water during a meal, stick to pure wines and avoid things like mulled wine which—while delicious—adds a lot of sugar.
Avoid Stress Eating
With healthy habits, holidays present more problems than just having a lot of delicious and calorie-rich comfort food. There is also a lot of added stress to go along with it. Worrying about buying gifts, having to deal with added deadlines, and simply dealing with some of those hard-to-deal-with relatives can leave you feeling stressed out.
The easiest (and worst) thing you can do is start to overindulge in sweets or comfort food to handle your stress. Take 30 minutes every day to exercise and find time to relax when you are starting to become overwhelmed. No matter how busy things get, give yourself some personal time to help you handle the stress and avoid overeating.
Do you struggle with the dreaded holiday bulge? What steps do you take to maintain healthy eating habits this time of year? Share your thoughts, tips, and suggestions in the comments below!
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