8 Health Minded Tricks For The Holiday Season

So the time of year where we all blow it is upon us. But you don’t have to let the holiday season undo all the hard work you’ve put in the rest of the year. Here are some great ideas to keep you on track this holiday season:

Trick #1: Give Away Most Of Your Baked Goods

Do you enjoy holiday baking but don’t want it to all end up on your (or your kids’) waist line? Give away a bunch of those yummy treats to others! Teachers, doctors, chiropractors, your favorite mechanics offices would all love a small bit of sweetness from you. Pack it into smaller portions and give it away instead of eating it all yourself and save a bunch of calories this holiday season!

Trick #2: Curb Your Hunger Before The Holiday Party

Want to avoid the overeating trap at the Holiday party? Feed yourselves some small, healthy snacks before you leave. A little fat and a little protein and a lot of flavor can take a serious bite out of your inclination to overeat at the party. Here’s a great list of healthy snacking ideas!

Trick #3: Bring The Healthy (But Tasty) Dish To The Party

There are a ton of great ways to modify traditional appetizer dishes to get them on the healthier side. If you need some great little recipes check out this post from the Food Network for ideas. Make sure it’s something that you and your family will enjoy too and then you can keep your distance from the bad stuff!

Trick #4: Enjoy Your Must-Have Treats In Moderation

I’m a big believer in moderation, it’s the way our bodies were designed to live. So allow yourself a few of your holiday favorites, just don’t go crazy with them! If you must have the fudge, just have a piece and try to savor it. If you can’t keep away from the dip, portion some out and commit to only eating that amount. Some self-control can seriously help your waist line during the holiday party season.

Trick #5: Choose Lower Calorie Cocktails

Tis the season for Skinny Girl drinks for sure and they have a lot of great selection now of their products, from low calorie flavored vodka to even a line a low calorie wine choices, your options are unlimited. Check out their website for some great ideas. So bring your own alcohol and save yourself a few unnecessary holiday pounds.

Trick #6: Get Moving

So the holiday season is a time where we get very busy, but don’t let it keep you from exercising. Try parking further away in the parking lot at the mall and walk at a brisk pace when you get inside. Walk the escalator instead of just riding it. Walk the stairs in your office building for 10 minutes at lunch. No matter what you do, just keep yourself moving and you can make up for a little time lost at the gym.

Trick #7: Make Up For Your Indulgences By Eating A Lot Less On The Next Day

I recently wrote about a diet that’s worked extremely well for me and part of it recommends low calorie eating days. Well this is a practice you could easily implement during the holiday season. Allow yourself some fun, rule breaking eating days and then follow them up with a super low calorie follow up day (think 500-1000 calories) and you should be able to balance out the damage. The key to this is to definitely plan for the next day after the party to do it and don’t just say you’ll do it and skip out.

Trick #8: Always Use Small Plates

Keep your plates small during the holiday events and you’ll likely take less calories in. It’s also ok to just have small bites of lots of different foods at the event and allow yourself to throw some food away. Also, try your best to not let the host talk you into eating a bunch of food that you don’t need. Find your way to gently say “no thank you.”

The holidays don’t have to be a time of expanding bellys and blown diets, there are lots of ways to adapt and still have a lot of fun!

Jennifer Warmann-Bloss

Sources:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy/packages/healthy-every-week/healthy-appetizer-recipes/healthy-appetizer-recipes.html

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/quick-easy/healthy-snack-ideas

http://skinnygirlcocktails.com/the-cocktails#content

https://elementalesthetics.com/how-sporadic-low-calorie-eating-can-help-you-lose-weight-and-improve-your-health-and-you-dont-have-to-buy-anything-to-make-it-work

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