Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Holiday Eating Help













Family gatherings, celebrating with friends, office parties--the holiday season is upon us!  This is a fun, loving time of year.  And it can be very challenging to those of us who are trying to live healthy.  I have a few suggestions to help enjoy celebrations with family and friends without burdening ourselves with guilt.


Don't skip meals on the day of a special occasion!
  • Keep to your normal eating schedule, preferably healthy meals with a snack in between; be sure to consume lean proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats each time you eat.
  • Skipping a meal will cause you to store proportionately more body fat the next time you eat and, since you'll be extra hungry, you'll  likely over-eat and store even more fat.
  • Skipping meals also slows your metabolism, causing you to burn fewer calories and store more fat.
Eat some protein and healthy fat before diving into the sweets, treats and alcohol.  This will slow the absorption of the carbohydrates, keeping your blood sugar more steady and hindering extra fat storage.

Alcohol is a carbohydrate.  Choose vodka over other spirits and avoid mixes full of juices, sodas and creams.  Wine is a nice alternative as well, and tends to be sipped more slowly.

Protect your workout schedule.  If you have a day when you are just too busy to go to the gym or don't have time to perform your complete workout:
  • Go for a walk, even if it's a short one.
  • For a simple, full-body workout, perform these exercises in a circuit:
    • squats
    • push-ups -- if you are unable to do a full-body push-up, go on your knees or place your hands against a wall or table top instead of the floor
    • a back row with tubing (inexpensive and easily found at Target and sporting goods stores).
    •  Complete as many circuits as you can.
Sleep well to keep your stress levels down; higher stress causes higher fat storage.
 
Don't try to loose weight during the holidays.  The most realistic (and sane) goal is to maintain!

    Enjoy the people you're with and have a fun and tasty holiday! - Jeanie