Meeting Your Health Goals Over the Holidays
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“I’ll Just WAit Until The NEw Year…”
Does that sound like you? This line of thinking is likely related to all-or-nothing thinking when it comes to making diet and lifestyle changes. Waiting until the New Year is a version of starting with a “clean slate” - unfortunately the slate never stays clean because we can’t be perfect! First take steps to change that mindset so that you can embrace your imperfect journey (tips to get there can be found here), then consider the tips below to help you stay aligned with your health goals this holiday season.
5 Tips to Stay on Track with Your Health Goals Over the Holiday Season
Eat normally before the event. I remember skipping breakfast on holidays when I was a child to allow for “more room” in my stomach for the holiday meal at 1 pm. Avoid this! Eat a full satisfying breakfast (and lunch if you do your holiday meals at dinner time) so that you don’t arrive with a ravenous appetite.
Practice mindful eating techniques. Eating mindfully means being aware of all physical and emotional sensations while eating without judgement. It is SO IMPORTANT to give yourself permission to fully enjoy and indulge in the food over the holidays - even if you are trying to lose weight. This practice can help reduce guilt and shame around eating, and can improve your relationship with food. Some mindful eating tips can be found here.
Bring appetizers and sides that align with your goals. Bringing cut fruit/vegetables for appetizers and cooked vegetables with dinner or baked fruit for dessert will allow you to share healthy foods with your family, while also knowing that you have options that support your health goals at the meal. Still have your holiday favorites along with these lower calorie, higher nutrient foods!
Plan your leftovers. Enjoy your favorite holiday foods on that holiday, and plan to take only the foods that align best with your health goals for leftovers. Aim for 1/2 of your leftovers to be vegetables, 1/4 of your leftovers to be low fat proteins, and 1/4 of your leftovers to be other foods. If you are hosting, cook more of the vegetables, fruit based desserts, and low fat proteins and less of the higher fat/sugar foods so that you have fewer leftovers of the foods that don’t align with what you want to eat on a daily basis.
Eat normally the days after. Even if you eat more than you planned to on the holiday, don’t try to “make up for it” on the following days by restricting your intake. One day of higher calorie eating will have almost no impact on your goals. If you try to restrict food the following day, you may end up in a cycle of restriction and overeating. Instead eat what you choose on the holiday, and regardless of the choices you make on the holiday go back to your normal, daily diet that aligns with your health goals the following day.
Try using some of these tools and see what works well for you. If you have a difficult time with food choices this holiday season then consider one on one health coaching to gain new tools and discover what strategies work best for you. Schedule a free 15 minute consultation with me to see if we are a good coaching fit.