While Still Enjoying Your Favorite Foods
The holiday season is upon us, bringing numerous celebrations with friends, family, and maybe even a few strangers. With all the festivities, how can you stick to your diet and avoid gaining extra pounds? Or better yet, still lose excess weight?
Some media reports suggest that the average person gains 3-7 pounds during the holidays. Another study found that weight gain is more prevalent among those who are already overweight, with these individuals averaging an increase of 8 pounds. What's worse, many people never lose the weight they gain during the holidays, which then accumulates over time.
Regardless of the statistics, what truly matters is YOU! What happens to your body over the holidays? Do you find yourself putting on a few extra pounds that you struggle to shed in the new year?
Would you like to avoid gaining extra weight and still enjoy all those fantastic holiday parties and gatherings? The good news is that it's possible to enjoy the festivities and delicious treats without gaining weight.
The Challenge with Holiday Weight Gain
In the US, the holiday season is long. It essentially begins in October with Halloween (even earlier for some religious groups), where you can stock up on enough candy to last a decade.
Next, we have Thanksgiving. The average daily calorie intake should be around 1800-2400 calories, depending on your height and weight. The average Thanksgiving meal is estimated to be around 3000 calories. That’s just for the meal alone and doesn’t include appetizers and snacks, which can add another 1500 calories. In one meal, you can double your recommended daily caloric intake. Thanksgiving dinner is also typically packed with fat and sugar, which doesn’t help your body stay slim.
Immediately following Thanksgiving comes a whirlwind of holiday parties, luncheons, office parties, family gatherings, and holiday baking events. The opportunities to overindulge are plentiful.
Then there are the winter holiday meals. Whether it’s Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, or another holiday you celebrate, you likely have at least one holiday feast with loved ones. These feasts also average over 3000 calories per meal.
It’s no wonder people gain a few extra pounds with all the delicious food, holiday baked goods, candies, and beverages! Unfortunately, many people assume that there is no way to get through the holidays without overindulging and gaining excess weight. But it is possible.
How to Enjoy Your Holiday Festivities and Still Lose Weight
The good news is that you can enjoy all those fun holiday events without having to buy larger clothes in the new year. You just need to plan ahead and be smart about how you enjoy your parties and festivities – and how you take care of your body in between all the events.
1. DON’T Skip Meals on Party Days
Skipping meals before parties and feasts might seem like a good idea to make up for the large meal, but it often leaves you feeling hungrier and more likely to overeat. Instead, eat healthy, well-balanced meals so that your body feels satisfied. This helps you eat smaller portions during the meal or party. Green smoothies are a great pre-party meal option as they are high in fiber and nutrients, leaving you feeling full and satisfied.
2. Use Portion Control
Holiday parties usually have a lot of delicious, rich food, which might not be very healthy. You don’t need to deprive yourself of sampling these tasty treats. Go ahead and enjoy some homemade pie or that decadent cheese dip, but practice portion control. Have a small piece of pie or cake. Instead of hovering over the hors d'oeuvres and grazing throughout the event, make a small plate for yourself with the treats you want so you are conscious of how much you are consuming. Try a few bites of the foods you enjoy, rather than a full serving of each. Savor them as you eat to actually enjoy them, which also helps reduce excess.
3. Green Smoothie Meal Replacements
With all the holiday excess, help your body rebalance itself by eating healthier foods between the festivities. Eat several servings of fruits and veggies daily to help your body clear out the excess fats, sugars, processed foods, and empty calories you take in during the festivities. Green smoothies are a great way to get your daily servings of fruits and veggies and help keep you feeling full. Replace at least one meal a day with a green smoothie to counteract the effects of your holiday festivities.
4. Move Your Body
Don’t let your exercise routine fall by the wayside over the holidays. Give your body a chance to work off some of the excess by at least keeping up your regular routine. If you have many events and opportunities to overindulge, you might want to add in some extra exercise time to help your body cope.
5. Do a Quick DETOX Between Festivities
Build in a few detox days between festivities to help your body clear out the excess. Properly made green smoothies make tasty and easy detox drinks that are great for cleansing the body of excess without leaving you feeling deprived of flavor. During the holiday season, detoxing the day or two after a party goes a long way in helping your body reset. Once the festivities slow down in the new year, it is a great time to do a longer detox to clear your body and reset your diet to a healthier one.
The Easiest Way to Stop Holiday Weight Gain
Why wait until New Year's to start losing weight? By then, you will have put on even more weight and have a much taller mountain to climb. It's all about making it easy, especially when it comes to losing weight and getting healthy.