Winter holidays is a fun time of year to spend time with your loved ones and reflect on all the hard work you have put into attaining your health goals over the year. However, with holiday cheer comes endless temptations of the season’s high calorie favorites lurking around every corner — goodies appearing in homes and offices at Thanksgiving and continuing on until the next year. With nearly two months of celebrating, most Americans gain about a pound or two by New Year’s Day from the holidays. Even though it’s just a pound or two, most Americans don’t lose the weight they gain during the winter holidays and add up year after year. Don’t fall into this trap! Keep focused on your health goals you’ve set while still enjoying the winter holiday season. It is still possible to enjoy holiday goodies without the dreaded weight gain. You can still indulge in the foods you like, but be aware of the amount out eat. Portion Control is KEY.

Portion Control Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

Photo by Abernethy Laurels

Follow these tips to help you avoid overindulging and holiday weight gain:

–        Never Arrive Hungry. Plan ahead to help you maintain discipline in the face of temptation. Try to have a nutritious snack such as raw veggies or fruit before attending holiday parties. If you do arrive hungry, drink some water to fill up before filling up your plate.

–        Divert Your Attention. Holiday parties are not all about the food. Make socializing and enjoying the company of your friends and family, rather than food, the focus of the event.

–        Pace Yourself. No need to eat until you’re stuffed. Chew slowly and munch at a leisurely pace to fill you up with less food. Try putting your fork down after each bite to keep yourself in control.

–        Keep Track. It is easy to lose count of the small bite-size appetizers. Keep track by stashing a toothpick in your pocket for each one. Set a limit beforehand and stick to it.

–        Outsmart the Buffet. When dinner is served buffet style, use the smallest plate available and don’t stack your food. Aim for the simplest foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables or shrimp cocktail. Watch out for sauces and dips. Don’t stand near the buffet table. Keep your back to it so you won’t even see it.

–        Be Choosy About Sweets. Spend your calories on the special treats you really want. Be selective and limit your indulgences to small portions or only what is very sensual to you.

–        Bring Your Own Treats. Consider bringing a low-calorie treat that you know you’ll enjoy, which will make the more fattening alternatives less tempting.

–        Limit Alcohol. Plan how much alcohol you’ll drink and stick to it. It’s about control, not calories. More alcoholic beverages loosens inhibitions, resulting in less control over what you eat and contributing to higher calorie consumption. If you feel out of place without a drink, sip water or club soda so you have something to carry like everyone else.

–        Keep Portions In Mind. Downsize to healthy portions when filling up your plate by learning to “eyeball” your food to gauge what’s too much and what’s just right. The following chart shows how to use our hands as guidelines to control our portions:

With these tips in mind, sticking to your goals may feel a little bit more achievable. Remember to stay focused, disciplined, and have fun in the process! Happy holidays and cheers to a happy and healthy New Year!

HOW TO REDUCE PORTION SIZES

The great American road trip is an essential part of most summers. And it wouldn’t be complete without stopping off for a bite to eat along the way. But, not only are healthy options on the highway often hard to find, the amount of food we’re served has gotten a lot bigger.

Even off the highway, in our very own communities, it’s not always easy to find healthy, smaller-sized meals. Servings everywhere have grown, along with our waistlines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its partners have tips on how we can make healthier options more available in our community. Big portion sizes have become the new abnormal, and it’s time to scale back.

Here are some resources to help you and your family scale back!

Cutting Calories

Once you start looking, you can find ways to cut calories for your meals, snacks, and even beverages. Here are some examples to get you started (click link below)
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/cutting_calories.html

Avoiding Portion Pitfalls

When eating at many restaurants, it’s hard to miss that portion sizes have gotten larger in the last few years. The trend has also spilled over into the grocery store and vending machines, where a bagel has become a BAGEL and an “individual” bag of chips can easily feed more than one. Research shows that people unintentionally consume more calories when faced with larger portions. This can mean significant excess calorie intake, especially when eating high-calorie foods. Here are some tips to help you avoid some common portion-size pitfalls. (Click link below) http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/portion_size.html

How to Use Fruits and Vegetables to Manage Your Weight

Fruits and vegetables are part of a well-balanced and healthy eating plan. There are many different ways to lose or maintain a healthy weight. Using more fruits and vegetables along with whole grains and lean meats, nuts, and beans is a safe and healthy one. Helping control your weight is not the only benefit of eating more fruits and vegetables. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of some types of cancer and other chronic diseases. Fruits and vegetables also provide essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, and other substances that are important for good health.

To lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than your body uses.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to eat less food. You can create lower-calorie versions of some of your favorite dishes by substituting low-calorie fruits and vegetables in place of higher-calorie ingredients. The water and fiber in fruits and vegetables will add volume to your dishes, so you can eat the same amount of food with fewer calories. Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling.

Here are some simple ways to cut calories and eat fruits and vegetables throughout your day. (click the link) http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/healthy_eating/fruits_vegetables.html

For specific tips on how you can make healthier choices and reduce your portion sizes, please click here to request a FREE  appointment with one of our nutritionists.