Healthy Eating at Holiday Parties

With Thanksgiving behind us, the onslaught of holiday parties is in full swing. While it’s great to celebrate and enjoy this festive time of year, that mindset can often lead to overindulging in unhealthy foods and quickly get you off track of your healthy eating and work out routines. The good news is that your will power is strong and you’ve been equipped by your amazing trainer on how to resist holiday treat temptation and keep yourself on track. Here are a few holiday pointers to keepyou going in the right direction even when attending holiday parties.

Eat before you go. The biggest problem with holiday party isn’t that the food is particularly bad or fattening, but rather that we tend to eat too much during the holiday season and at holiday parties. If you have a light healthy meal or snack before you go you will be less likely to overeat.
Just follow these rules before the party meal:

• Think light. You want to fill yourself a little, but you still want to have room for the party foods as well.
• Have a fruit or veggie, but don’t stop there or you will quickly be hungry again.
• Have a protein! Proteins take longer to digest and these foods are good for you. You can have a glass of milk, a slice of cheese, or a high protein Greek yogurt.

Wear the right clothes. Overeating is really easy to do if you are there in loose-fitting clothing. On the other hand, if you look great in a tight dress or shirt, it will be harder to overeat during the party.

Arrive a little late to the party. You delay the eating just a bit longer. This can be helpful by the end of the night.

Drink water and lots of it, while skipping sodas, juices, eggnog, and alcohol. Remember that drinks that aren’t water contain calories … and often more than you may think! It is easy to consume a huge number of unhealthy calories at a party just by having a couple of
cocktails.

Alcohol is full of calories that offer no nutrition. Mixed drinks are mixed with juices, syrups, sodas, and other items of little to no value. Whether grabbing a beer, a glass of champagne, a glass of wine, or your favorite cocktail you are adding wasted calories to your diet.

Drinking alcohol will also make it easier to overeat and to choose the wrong items as well as dehydrating you. Even low calorie options can slow digestion and make it easier for you to eat more foods. Just skip it or stick with half for a toast. Better yet, get ginger ale for your toast and only have part of it (most will think it is champagne).

Socialize, Socialize,Socialize. It is easy to find yourself hovering over the appetizer table. Instead work hard to meet new people, talk to those you have never talked to, and use this time to talk to those you rarely talk to. This will keep you away from the food and help you to have an amazing time instead!

If you have a friend you tend to eat with at these parties, let him / her know that you are trying to avoid the food table. Plus if you know of others who are working to maintain their weight through the holiday season then stick with them and be supportive of one another throughout the night.

Stick to Veggies and Fruit. There are often lots of things offered at a holiday party. Start with vegetables and fruit. Skip the dip for both items to avoid extra calories. This is a good way to get the party started and make sure that you eat a balanced meal while there.

Take micro-portions. If you want to try everything on the buffet, that is really not that bad of an idea. Start with a few healthy items you knowyou will like. Take two to three mouthfuls of each item. Then add a few new things and take one to two mouthfuls of those. By eating just a little of a lot you will feel like you have had everything (after all, you have) but haven’t held yourself back from the enjoyment, all while not overeating.

This works with desserts as well. Take a very tiny slice of pie, a small scoop of ice cream, or a very small corner of cake. These will still have calories and loads of sugar, but if you only eat a little then you will be far better off than if you consumed large portions (like most people at holiday parties do).

Curb Desserts. Dessert has more nutrients than alcohol and in many cases fewer calories, but it is a course people get carried away with really easy. Take one small piece. Avoid whipped topping which is high in fat as well as calories. If you want apple pie and chocolate cake then take a micro piece of each. However, you should only eat the size of one small-piece-of-pie worth of desserts. This also needs to include any table candy, cookies, or ice cream.

WARNING!  There are some things at a party that you should watch out for. Having one or two of these items isn’t bad, but a whole serving is packed with salt, sugar, fat, and calories.

• Chips. Even low fat, no fat options just aren’t healthy for you. Skip them, especially with dip. Choose veggies instead – even without dip you will be doing yourself a favor.
• Skip fried foods where possible. This includes deep fried turkey, fried shrimps, and fried fish.
• Avoid cranberry sauce; lotsof sugar and empty calories!
• Avoid pecan pie. It is packed full of twice as many calories as many other pies. If you do have to have some, think small, really small!