For many the holidays can be our busiest time of the year.
by Leah McGrath, RD, LDN
Corporate Dietitian – Ingles Supermarkets
From church events and office parties, to gatherings of friends and families; our days and evenings seem to be packed with a mad rush of activities.
Often we seem to run out of time to take care of our own health and are tempted by a wide variety of holiday goodies. Here are some tips to have a healthier holiday season:
1. Exercise – Find time to exercise every day. As the weather turns colder and evenings are darker it is easier to find excuses not to get outside.
• Bundle up and take a flashlight for your evening walk or bring sneakers with you to work and walk for 15-20 minutes during lunch.
• Join a gym or the YMCA/YWCA now instead of waiting until January. Resolve to go at least three times each week.
• Have an exercise buddy – Studies show that if we are accountable to someone we are more likely to stick with an exercise plan. Do you have a friend, family member or co-worker who wants to stay in shape over the holidays?
• Do you have time you set aside every night to watch TV? During commercials march in place, do sit ups or push ups, or use small (1-2 lb.) weights and do upper body exercises.
• Get on your exercise bike or treadmill and watch TV or read a book and the time will speed by.
2. Watch portions – We all love to sample those holiday
goodies whether it’s those homemade Christmas cookies, special snack
mixes, or eggnog. The problem is how much we eat. Remember that adding
extra calories each day means that we will gain weight.
• Sweets – Instead of a handful of candy or a plateful of
cookies, limit yourself to one cookie or just a couple of pieces of
candy each day.
• Before heading out to that party or that buffet, have a big
glass of water, a cup of soup or a salad so you can exercise some self
control and limit the portions you eat.
• Take your time – don’t be the first one in line for food and the first one finished eating. Savor the flavors.
• Think about what you’re drinking – Alcoholic beverages,
sweet tea, egg nogs and sodas all have calories. Drink water,
non-caloric beverages and limit alcoholic beverages to one drink per
day.
• Take the smaller plate at the buffet – Serve yourself from
the dessert or salad sized plate instead of the dinner plate.
Downsizing plate size usually means cutting calories.
3. Don’t forget your vegetables – It takes a lot to make vegetables high in fat, but it can be done.
• Avoid vegetables that are covered in cheese, cream sauces, or deep fried.
• Try and have extra servings of raw or steamed vegetables with your meals.
• Bring raw cut up vegetables to work as a snack.
