The holiday season is approaching, and with it tends to come a great deal of excitement, and rightfully so. For many it brings some much needed time off, time with friends\/family, and of course some of our favorite foods and drinks! Unfortunately, I tend to see and hear a trend that I don’t believe is necessarily warranted. Many (most) of my clients at some point in the next few weeks will report feeling nervous, worried, or guilty about partaking in these festivities. Over the years I\u2019ve learned a few tips that I want to share with you, to help people relax and feel much better about enjoying these next few weeks! Do the math! Most of us eat around 3-4 meals a day. With around 35 days left in the year, that is 105-140 meals. If we add up a few meals on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve\/day, and New Years, we are looking at 10- 13 meals total! It is important to realize that if you maintain good eating habits, and stay active and on track the majority of the time, these few days are not going to make an appreciable change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip 1:<\/strong> You did not gain 2 pounds of fat in a day! It would take at least a week of \u201covereating\u201d considerably to add 1-2 lbs of body fat. The changes you may see on the scale are usually attributed to: water retention (alcohol can affect this too), increased sodium intake, and the literal food you ate. Many people let this derail them for days\/weeks until they get back on track. This is more likely to leave you in a worse place than you started. Instead, forget the number on the scale and get back on track the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip 2:<\/strong> Focus more on eating healthy for the rest of the year. Meet your goals and fuel performance- if that is your thing. If you follow a nutritional plan, or just like to eat healthy most of the time, there is no benefit to stressing over the 5-7 days out of the year we should be celebrating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip 3:<\/strong> Fill your plate with high protein sources and veggies as often as possible. They are the most filling and nutritious. Proteins and vegetables can help curb cravings and keep you in line when there is an abundance of food! Eat a high protein mid morning snack before lunch with friends\/family so that you are less likely to overeat the rest of the day. Hint- this is how we want to set up our plates most meals anyway!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip 4:<\/strong> There is nothing inherently \u201cunhealthy\u201d about Thanksgiving\/Holiday foods in general. Most are based around relatively lean meats like turkey, fish, ham, etc. green beans, sweet potatoes, and other veggies. Fill your plate first with these, and then treat yourself to anything else you\u2019d like- guilt free!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip 5:<\/strong> Enjoy! I find it counterproductive to \u201cindulge\u201d in tasty foods only to feel bad for it later on for days\/weeks. I prefer to enjoy every last bite of the foods I don\u2019t eat daily, and then get back on track with the next meal or the next day. Being overly focused on the extra piece of pie, or serving of stuffing only steals from the enjoyment! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip 6:<\/strong> Don\u2019t try to compensate. Many of my clients think they need to workout extra hard the morning of or the morning after these events, or move meals around to \u201cmake room\u201d for these extra calories. Remember point 1, these few extra meals won\u2019t make an appreciable change to your health or body composition. Continue on track as if it never happened! This encourages a healthy relationship with food and exercise, which helps with long term outcomes and health!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip 7:<\/strong> Exercise. Stick with your normal routine, or get on a resistance training program if you aren\u2019t already. Hint \u2014 we recommend this all year round, regardless of the season. This can help us maintain our health through the lifespan, and also feel much better during the crazy holiday schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tip 8: <\/strong>My general approach (and advice) is to zoom out and look at the big picture. If you have performance or body composition goals, these next few weeks are highly unlikely to have a massive impact if you implement some of the strategies above. If you do not have one of these goals, maintaining a healthy relationship with food is still extremely important. This allows us to fully enjoy the time we spend with our friends and family \u2014 the things that matter the most!<\/p>\n\n\n\n