Healthy Holiday Eating Tips

The holiday season is filled with wonderful food, seasonal goodies, and lots of cheer. We also look forward to spending meaningful time with family and friends at social gatherings. What we don’t look forward too is how bad we feel in January when we find ourselves a little heavier, a bit more sluggish and out of shape because we stopped being as active and gave into all the holiday temptations.

Your objective should be to minimize the damage from holiday foods while enjoying the holidays at the same time. The holidays should not be a time of deprivation; by attempting to avoid these indulgences you are setting yourself up for failure. With a little anticipation and a plan in hand, you can avoid being a victim of the annual holiday trap and even be able to maintain your weight and feel great throughout the season!

Redefine or Define your Holidays

Many of us define the holidays by the food we enjoy and look forward to. Thanksgiving, the starting point of the holidays is a day-long feast and the remaining season is predicated by cookies, candies, parties, festive drinks and rich foods, which can all create a negative effect if not properly balanced. This year try starting a tradition of more non-food related activities. You may find that these activities become an annual part of your holiday experience. Our family takes a hike Thanksgiving morning and then we try to go to a movie that afternoon. Spending less time focused on food and more time enjoying the company of your loved ones is really what the holidays are all about.

Have a Plan

My holiday strategy includes tightening up on my eating plan now, along with increasing my daily activity and exercise. By doing so, I can splurge a little during the festivities while keeping my energy up and my weight within normal range by year's end.

I look forward to enjoying some of the wonderful traditional holiday foods, but maintain by filling my (small) plate with simply prepared, plain foods. If I choose anything high-calorie or high fat, it's only in small "tastes."

One plate of healthy food usually fills me up. Before getting up for a second helping, I try to wait ten minutes and then ask myself “am I hungry, do I really want or need more?” If you're like most, our desire for more food is not about hunger, but about how good it tastes. Here's the really good news – you've already tasted it!

Original published at www.marketofchoice.com