Got Health with Lindsay: Healthy for the holidays tips

Thanksgiving has come and gone and there is officially 20 days left until Christmas. As we all know, with the holidays comes social gatherings that revolve around less that nutritious FOOD options. In turn, the average American GAINS 8 lbs during the holiday season. Yikes. I will be the first to admit, I’ve been guilty of over indulging during this time of year and having the ohbutitschristmastime rational. Come January and 10 lbs heavier, I see how I did myself a great disservice and the challenge to get it off comes into play.

So here’s what I know to be true in regards to staying healthy this time of year and warding off temptations. Do feel free to share what works for you as well.

1. Eat small and frequent balanced meals. I always have my healthy fast food snacks on hand.

2. Drink lots of water. Take your body weight and divide that by two. That’s how much water you should be consuming per day.

3. Limit your alcohol consumption. Instead of beer and wine, opt for sparkling water with a lime served in a fancy cup.

4. Use the 9 inch plate method during meals. ½ your plate should be vegetables/fruit (about the size of a small paperback book), ¼ should be your protein selection (about the size of a deck of cards), and ¼ should be your starch (about the size of a tennis ball).

5. Physical activity is a great way to burn calories and reduce holiday induced stress. What are you doing to optomize your health?

6. Always make a list before going to the grocery store. Walk in with your list, get what you need, and leave. Always shop around the outside perimeter of the store and avoid the middle aisles that have the unhealthy temptations.

7. If there is a special holiday dish that you will feel deprived if you don’t eat, simply limit yourself to a couple bites. Satisfy your craving and move on.

8. Always go into an event with a plan. “He/She who fails to plan, plans to fail”.  Always be mindful of your health goals and when temptation strikes, contemplate and choose.

9. Bring a healthy dish with you to that social gathering. It will give you a buffer from temptation and set an example of health onto your family and friends. Build on relationships and don’t center your day on the food.

10. Get plenty of sleep. Sleep helps our bodies properly produce glucose and restores our energy for the following day.

Most importantly, remember there are 20 days left until Christmas. 4 days until Hanukkah. 27 days until New Years Day. How many meal choices are we going to be faced with during this holiday season? Maybe 3-7? If we are setting ourselves up for success and eating 6 small healthy meals a day, that’s 155 other meals that we can still be making healthy choices with.

Have a happy and healthy holiday season.

xo

LeeLaLa is on:

Facebook | Bloglovin’ | Twitter | Instagram