How to handle your holiday parties
I grew up with a mother( hey mom!) who LOVES to bake. She spends an entire day morning till night baking her favorite cookie and treat recipes, then delivering plates of the delicious varieties to relatives. This has long engrained in me that Christmas and baking go together. Baking this time of year brings the same joy to me as listening to Christmas songs and decorating the tree, I can’t have one without the other, they’re the 3 amigos of Christmas essentially. This also means there is a ton of temptation. Not even just in my household, but wherever you go this time of year. You just walk into a grocery store during the holidays and magically the baking isle has moved from an easily avoidable middle isle to front and center and suddenly you’re staring wide eyed at the goodies. The good news? You can get through the holidays while staying on top of your health and goals. January 1st doesn’t have to mean doing a ton of damage control. Below are some great tips you can start implementing immediately to handle holiday temptation at holiday parties and avoid the holiday bulk. Make this year the year, ring in 2018 a step ahead of the game!#1: Fill your plate first and go sit down. You are much more likely to overeat if you stand and graze at the snack table. While you’re looking over the thanksgiving spread, remember:
#2: Hit your protein first. Protein is usually the macro we come up short on, especially when eating outside of our home or at holiday parties. Fill your plate with the amount of turkey or ham you need to meet the remaining protein for the day. It’ll keep you fuller longer which will help minimize extra trips to the dessert table. Didn’t pack your scale? That’s okay. Guesstimate as close as possible, I’ll add a chart at the bottom of this post for you to reference for portion sizes using your hand, palm and fingertips when you are trying to guesstimate.
#3 Fill the rest your plate with vegetables. Vegetables are a great volume food full of nutrients that will fill you up without completely pushing you over on carbs and fats.
#4 Try to steer clear of foods heavy in fats. Gravy, butter, stuffing, eggnog and cheesy casserole’s all contain higher fats and fats are very easy to go over on. By avoiding these items, you are giving yourself a better chance at staying as close as possible to your daily macros while guesstimating your meal. Want to indulge a little? That leads me to the next tip:
#5 Moderation. This is huge in flexible dieting success! We know that perfection or hard “no’s” make it harder to stay successful long term. If you want to indulge a little, thats okay! Keep portions moderate and save a cushion of macros. If I know I’ll be guesstimating most of my meal or indulging in some desserts, I’ll save a cushion of my carbs and fats for just that.
#6 Enjoy the time with your family and stop stressing about being exact on your macros!
Holidays are all about spending time with our loved ones! Don’t let the stress of tracking overshadow a good time. Head in to your holiday’s with these tips in mind and you will succeed. You have the power to continue to work towards your goals during the holidays and put into practice your healthy lifestyle changes.
Wishing you a fun and happy holiday season,
Mallory
