How to survive the holidays, holistic nutritionist-style

I have noticed several life changes that I have been making since I went back to school for holistic nutrition a couple of years ago. One of them involves that way that I approach the holidays. Before, I would just do what everyone else was doing and go nuts on all of the food. Events like Christmas or New Years Eve are fantastic excuses to toss all caution to the wind and just pig out sometimes.

But the key word here is “sometimes”! It is all too easy to fall off of the wagon completely, and then all of your efforts to be healthier as this year wraps up could all end up being for naut.

There is hope though! Try using a few of these tips and tricks to help you to successfully survive the holidays… and manage to maintain your diet while being totally Christmas-y and festive!

• Don’t skip your workouts!
  • It may be the holidays, but that doesn’t mean that you can just take this time of year as an excuse to totally skip out on your fitness! This is especiallyrelevant because a pre-meal workout around the holidays can actually help you come dinner time
  • Try to get some high-intensity interval training or strength training beforehand. Training this way creates a better hormonal environment in your body, which means that you will be able to handle glucose a bit better. In the case of HIIT training, you’ll also have the ability to burn more calories long after the workout is done (now bear in mind that HIIT training is that type of workout that I had a few weeks ago… and it was TOUGH STUFF! Worth it though…)
• Always (always!) hydrate
  • Did you know that dehydration often gets confused for hunger? So obviously one of the tricks to keeping your holiday eating under control is to make sure that you’re always well hydrated before big meals
  • Drink a glass or two of water before you eat. That way, you will never confuse thirst for hunger, and you won’t overeat as a result
• …try not to go completely nuts on the holiday wine though!
  • Having a festive drink for the holidays with your family and friends is one thing, but going overboard is all too easy!
  • Try and limit yourself to just one or two drinks, and then sip some water for the rest of the the time you are at gatherings
• Don’t go to holiday events hungry
  • Get ready for a Captain Obvious moment: showing up to a holiday event feeling hungry lends itself to going overboard on the maybe-not-quite-so-healthy spread. If you go in hungry, you’re probably at a low blood sugar point where you want quick acting food, like refined carbs and sugar. That means that you’ll end up not only craving those things, but splurging a little too much on them too
  • To make sure that you avoid the overeating, try to eat a light meal of whole foods (think satiating things like protein, fiber and healthy fats) about two or three hours before your holiday shindig
• Try to slow down your eating time
  • Most people eat way too quickly at events, buffets, and holiday dinners, which doesn’t allow the natural signals that you are full to reach your brain. You may have had enough calories, but your brain doesn’t know it yet and so you continue to eat
  • To help avoid this, try chewing more slowly to give your brain a second to process signals that you’re full. Also, don’t be afraid to time yourself while you’re eating. You don’t want to take less than 15 to 20 minutes to finish a meal (if you do, you’re probably eating too quickly), so it’s totally fine to keep an eye on the clock while you eat to make sure you’re not rushing through your feast
• Eat protein and vegetables first
  • Did you know that there is a correct order of eating operations? It’s pretty easy though: just always remember to have protein and veggies before all the other things on your plate. This will keep things a little more balanced, plus the protein and the fiber from the vegetables will fill you up early on as opposed to fast-acting carbs and sugar on an empty stomach that will keep you hungry
  • Almost any holiday event will at least have a veggie and cheese platter, and likely cold cuts or meatballs, so go for these choices first before the sugary treats

But above all of the other tips that I could give you for the holidays, the number one most important one is to enjoy your time with your loved ones! Christmas comes but once a year, and it is a fantastic excuse to get everyone together.