Five Simple Tips to Beat the Holiday Season’s Grease Traps Without Starving Yourself
Health FitnessDo you remember that feeling of delicious excitement that we used to feel as children when the end of the year holidays approached? Sadly, for many of us it has been replaced by a sense of dread…and not just at the prospect of opening our credit card bill in January!
For some, an even bigger fear awaits: the prospect of facing the bathroom scale after weeks of festive food and drink.
It is not for nothing that parties such as Christmas were once called “holidays.” In medieval times, these holidays were rare islands of indulgence in oceans of famine that lasted for months.
In the developed world these days, the closest we get to famine is when we work through lunch. It can be a battle to keep our weight in check in the face of everyday food temptations. The end of the year parties can push us to the limit.
But it does not have to be like that. Here are five simple tips for beating the holiday season’s grease traps…and the inevitable guilt that follows. He will be relieved to know that none of them involves starvation. In fact, the first tip actually advises the exact opposite…
1) Have a good breakfast
This may seem counterproductive, but this advice applies to everyday life, so why change it during the holidays? Many people sleep in and skip breakfast while on vacation. By the time lunch or dinner arrives, they are hungry and put much more in their mouths than usual.
I assume, of course, that your usual breakfast is sensible and healthy. Starting the day with a stack of pancakes, grits, bacon, and six eggs is NOT a good way to start the day, vacation or not!
2) Drink at least eight glasses of water a day
You should drink a lot of water every day anyway. During the holidays this is even more important.
We all tend to drink more alcohol or sugary soft drinks during vacation periods. I’m not going to be a killjoy and suggest that you deny yourself these indulgences, but try to alternate each “bad” drink with a glass of water. If it’s a glass of club soda, with a slice of lemon, it won’t look or feel out of place. Your head and stomach will thank you the next morning.
3) Fill up on fiber
Drink one of eight or more glasses of water half an hour to forty minutes before your main meal, along with a fiber supplement. There’s also no need to buy expensive and overhyped dietary aids like ZetaCap or FiberThin. A product like Metamucil is much cheaper and just as effective.
You’ll feel fuller when the food arrives, so you’ll eat less. And thanks to the extra fiber in your diet, food won’t stay in your digestive system as long, which means less of it will be absorbed to eventually reach your waist or thighs.
4) Control your own pace
This applies to the festive season as a whole and to each of the great foods you encounter during this period. By all means, enjoy these holidays, but resist the urge to make every day between Thanksgiving and New Years a holiday.
When presented with a table laden with all manner of delicacies, the natural response is to fill your plate with as much as you can fit on it. Go for more, but the smallest helps. Eat a piece of turkey with some vegetables. Then he comes back for a slice of ham and potatoes. Hmm, that sauerkraut looks good…
Chew slowly and talk to your friends and family. Parties are by their nature leisure affairs. Use this to your advantage and take your time. This gives your stomach plenty of time to register that it’s full, which doesn’t happen when you gobble down a large plate of food.
The advantage is that you can really enjoy the dessert, instead of forcing it out of obligation.
5) Take a walk
Yes, the holidays offer more culinary temptations. But they also offer more opportunities for fun, fat-burning activities.
Go for a leisurely swim or walk on the beach if you live in a warm climate. If not, take a relaxing walk in the woods with your children. Or snuggle up with your partner in front of a roaring fire… which is sure to lead you to one of the most effective and enjoyable forms of exercise!
Happy Holidays!