12 Healthy Holiday Eating Tips

‘Tis the season, unfortunately for gads of temptation and overeating.  I’m all for balance and occasional indulgence but the problem is our ‘holiday season’ spans several weeks which can be a slippery descent to tighter pants.   The focus should be on not gaining weight, and here are 12 healthy holiday eating tips to help you through:

1. Don’t starve yourself the day of the party: Eating a light breakfast and lunch with complex carbs and lean protein will ensure you’re not famished when you hit the holiday buffet table. Never arrive on an empty stomach!

2. Step away from the Buffet! When you linger near the food you might as well sit in temptation’s lap. Prepare your plate and move away from the buffet table.

3. Don’t show up empty handed: When bringing a dish to the party, bring something that you like and is healthy, such as a fresh veggie tray and hummus or a colorful salad.

4. Show up “casually late”: Save hundreds of calories in drinks and hors d’ouvres by arriving late. If you’re not there, you can’t eat/drink it!

5. Skip the ordinary:  Knowing you are going to indulge in holiday foods, bypass everyday foods like chips, and go for the more exotic foods that you don’t see every day.

6. Keep your fingers off the finger foods: These foods are usually high in calories and fat and low in nutrients. Two exceptions: vegetables and shrimp cocktail.

7. Savor more than the food: Focus on the most treasured part of the holidays, such as conversation with friends and loved ones. Approach the holidays with gratitude, not gluttony.

8.  Zone in on portion distortion: Use the smallest plates and bowls available – you will be physically limited by how much food you can serve yourself. Also, knowing that you will serve more than the usual number of items onto your plate, take “tasting size” portions, rather than full portions of each food.

9. Survey the buffet: You will tend to fill up your plate in the order that food appears on the buffet table. The items you really want may be at the end of the table; look it over first!

10. Exercise:  Keep your body moving.  Get a jump on your holiday calories by working some off first.

11. Eat MINDfully: Eat slowly and put your fork down between bites. Wait 20 minutes before going back for seconds (it takes your body 20 minutes to realize you are full).

12. Drown your appetite: Hydrate yourself by having a glass of water when you first arrive, and alternating water with each alcoholic beverage (which can also prevent a hangover).

Image: By dnak [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons