Healthy Eating Tips for Holiday Gatherings

It’s here, six-weeks of parties, family gatherings, office holiday happy hours, omnipresent baked goods and alcohol and massive sit-down dinners where the table strains under the weight of the food upon it.

All this after you’ve spent the last 10 months exercising on a regular basis and eating in a relatively healthy manner. What’s a weak-willed person to do surrounded by so much temptation for such an extended period of time? Make and stick to a healthy eating plan that involves all or some of the following, that’s what…

• Distance makes the heart grow healthier…at parties and gatherings, stay as far away from the food (buffet table, servers) as humanly possible. This follows the age-old “If I’m near it, I’m gonna eat (or drink) it.” adage. You’ll be surprised how you can cut calories just by making it even slightly difficult to acquire them.
• Stay on the wagon…at least for the duration of the holiday event. As you might have already experienced, alcohol tends to lower our inhibitions, to include those that warn us away from unhealthy foods. Even if we get only a bit tipsy, that can be enough to make us say, “Screw it! It’s the holidays, I’m gonna eat that, calories be damned. And get me another drink.”
• Fill your tank before you arrive…with healthy (protein and complex carbs) food from your home. This will make it more difficult to consume unhealthy items at the party. If you forget or are unable to follow this tip, start your holiday event with healthy foods, like fruits and veggies, to take the edge of your hunger. But don’t use the fact that you ate healthy foods to say to yourself, “I deserve a reward of 14 cookies and several spiked eggnogs for eating those crudités.”
• Take a 15-minute breather…before heading back for more food. For some reason, there has been a delay system established between our stomach and brain of about 15 minutes. It takes that long for our stomach to say to our brain, “Whoa, there’s not much more room down here. You might want to shut ‘er down for the night…just sayin’.”
• These boots were made for walkin’…especially for about 30 minutes after over-indulging. Or of it’s socially acceptable and there’s room, hit he dance floor for as long as you can keep dropping it low. “Drop it low, bring it back slow.” –Tarik Sphinx
• Hit the hydration station…in the form of water, sparkling or otherwise. If you like to flex, wander around with some flavored carbonated water in a clear cup and say to everyone, “Man, I’m drinking these club sodas and vodkas like they’re water.” Not only will the water keep you hydrated, it will also give you the false impression that your tummy is full.
• Keep some Wrigley’s in your pocket…chew some gum while mingling as this will help prevent you from nibbling throughout the event. Yes, you might hear, “Hey, you CAN chew gum and walk at the same time.” but it’ll be worth it to avoid several hundred calories or more.
• Enjoy the conversation…by setting down your fork or hors d’oeuvres and talking to those around you. This is a tactic that allows you to overcome that delay between your stomach and brain whereby your brain realizes, “Oh, we’re full? Good to know.”

There you go, there’s your plan to eat healthy during the seemingly endless holiday gatherings over the next six weeks. Happy Thanksgiving!