Wellness Holidays: Follow these Tips to Maintain your Wellness and your Weight During the Holidays, Part 2

(continued from Part 1)

Wellness holidays are easier and tastier than you may think! With the simple steps below, plus those from "Wellness Holidays: Follow these Tips to Maintain your Wellness and your Weight During the Holidays, Part I," you can avoid those unwanted holiday pounds.

6. Don’t let yourself get hungry! It takes less calories to prevent hunger than it does to deal with it once it occurs.  Always consume 3 meals a day with between meal snacks as necessary to keep your hunger at bay.  Withholding food for several hours or more leads to hypoglycemia (excessive hunger), slows down your metabolism and primes the pancreas to release extra fat-storing insulin when you finally eat.  Additionally, true hunger elicits a primal fear and anxiety response that sets you up for dietary indiscretions.
• Have a snack an hour before you arrive at a holiday gathering.  My top pick would be a small handful of nuts along with a piece of fruit (apple) or fresh raw veggies (handful of carrots) dipped in hummus.

 

7. Make exercise a priority! It’s a fantastic safeguard against weight gain and helps compensate for holiday indulgences.  It’s also the perfect tonic for the stress and anxiety we all experience during the holiday season (many people binge when stressed).
• Take a “family walk” after your holiday feast.
• Sign up for a holiday road race.
• Schedule in advance a regular work-out with a trainer.
• Recruit a holiday walking buddy.
• Incorporate walking into your holiday shopping.  Wear comfortable shoes, and do as much of it as you can on foot.
• Don’t forget house-cleaning and shoveling snow count as exercise too!

 

8. Be prudent in satisfying your sweet tooth. 
• Fresh fruit salad, a piece of high quality dark chocolate, or a cup of “real” hot cocoa are delicious and nutritious.
• If you prefer other goodies, be mindful of your portions.

 

9. Indulge in alcohol in moderation.  Over indulgence loosens inhibitions and increases the risk of dietary indiscretion.  To add insult to injury, too much alcohol in the evening triggers excessive morning hunger and cravings for starchy junk foods for many.  And of course the calories in alcohol can really add up!
• Make yourself drink a full glass of water between each alcoholic beverage at parties.
• Always make sure there is some food in your stomach before you have a drink.
• Don’t feel obligated to attend every party either – choose your holiday parties wisely.

 

10. Get your beauty rest! Provocative new science reveals that sleep deprivation   enhances appetite, and increases cravings for diet-sabotaging foods like sweets, chips, breads and pasta.  Late-night partying is a risk for expanding waist lines along multiple fronts! Additionally, sleep deprivation zaps energy and enthusiasm for exercise.

6. Avoid mindless eating – approach every meal, every snack and every party mindfully.
• Don’t linger over the buffet table or hover over the hors d’oeuvres nibbling as you engage in conversation.
• Pre-plate everything (meals, hors d’oeuvres, dessert etc).  We tend to eat less if we can view it all before we start.