Holiday Eating

Hey everyone!

     It's getting closer and closer to the holidays! I'm super excited! I love everything about Thanksgiving and Christmas! Family, friends, yummy food, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Christmas shopping, Christmas music, presents (hey, who doesn't like getting and giving presents?!), decorations, the list goes on and on. The one thing that many people (myself included!) have trouble with is holiday eating. There's so much delicious food and you want to eat some of it all! How do we go about doing that without expanding our waistlines? I'm going to give you a couple of different ways to go about it.

     One way to combat the holiday weight gain is to eat the foods that you like, but to do it smartly! Start with the veggies (try to avoid ones coated in cheese or other sauces) and some turkey breast or other lean meat. If you like those veggie dishes that are saucy or cheesy (like green bean casserole...yum!) make sure to follow my next bit of advice: small small portions! Take your dinner plate and start with the veggie trays, steamed veggies, turkey breast (little to no gravy!!) and then add the other sides like stuffing, sweet potato casserole (yes, this counts as a syrupy, sugary, smothered veggie dish...just look at all those marshmallows!), and others in tablespoon size to 1/4 cup portions (a quarter to half a baseball, just enough for a few bites) on your plate and stop when the main part of your plate is full. Eat the food on your plate and stop when you're full. Wait an hour or two and see if you're still hungry. If so, then at this point go back for seconds or dessert. If you're wanting multiple desserts, the tablespoon to 1/4 cup portion rule still applies, but this time with a small dessert plate. If there is food you still didn't get to try that you wanted too (does your family make a whole buffet of food?!) then make up a to-go plate if you can and take it home with you to eat the next day.

     I know, I know. You're all thinking "Kara, you're freaking crazy if you think I'm only going to eat a tablespoon or a quarter cup of my favorite foods!!" BUT my response to you is: Do you want to ward off weight gain during the holiday season? My guess is the answer is yes. And this is also only one way to do so, as I started my last paragraph with. You can also limit the number of foods you eat (ie. only turkey, stuffing, fresh veggies and pumpkin pie or foods that your family only makes for the holidays), or limit your feasting to only Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day. Only eat all of those goodies in large quantities on those two days. Afterall, it's only one day, it won't burst your waistline (although it may feel like it ;)) The average person eats about 3,000 calories on each of these holidays, which is not quite equivalent to the number of calories needed to gain ONE pound, so even though you feel as though your belly is super bloated, you probably haven't even gained one extra pound, let alone the 10 that people like to exaggerate about :) Eat all your leftovers in normal portions and you'll be fine! :)

Sorry for the extra long post! :)