We all know how it goes – Holiday season rolls around and we just give up. We eat carb after carb, chocolate box after chocolate box & we promise to redeem ourselves in January (a promise we usually break two weeks later…)! So, how do we not spiral into the same routine? Here are 7 tips that work for me:
1- Don’t go to a party hungry! This is actually a tip my husband gave me a while back when I came home starving after work on a Friday. We were going out to a dinner party that night and he told me to have a healthy snack so that I’m not ravenous at the dinner. When we’re hungry, we tend to over-eat, indulging in food, and we’re typically in a bad mood. So, having a healthy filling snack before heading to a party will not only reduce hunger but put us in a better mood too! Well, he was right, when I got to the party, it took another hour before we sat at the table to eat and if I hadn’t eaten something, I would have been having a horrible time.
2-Don’t fill up your plate! We tend to eat everything that is on our plate, not through a fault of our own. Partly because we don’t like to waste food, party because our parents thought us to clear our plates, and partly because we eat what is right in front of us. By putting less on our plate, we eat slower, therefore helping our bodies digest the food. When the food is slowly digested, we realize we actually get full much faster.
3- Dink H2O! Hydrating is the key as our bodies often confuse thirst for hunger. Try this: next time you think you’re hungry after eating lunch, have a glass of water and see if you’re still hungry. More often than not, you’ll realize that you’re not really hungry anymore. That’s because your body is simply de-hydrated and it sents over the wrong signal. So, instead of going for that soda, grab a bottle of water and sip on it all evening. You’ll see, it will help you control what you eat and how much you eat!
4- Share your dessert! Instead of going for that entire piece of cake, share it with your loved one. This way, you’re still satisfying your cravings, yet intaking only half the calories.
5- Workout in the morning! It’s so easy to say: “I don’t have time to workout”. It’s actually quite easy not to find time for something you don’t feel like doing. Your schedule can easily get in your way, so the best thing to do is to make working out the 1st thing you do in the morning. I made it a routine to wake up at 5am and head to an Orange Theory class at 5:30am, this way I have the rest of the day off! Working out before the Holiday fun will prep your body to burn calories all day long.
6- Drink coffee or tea! Coffee (and tea) has a way of cutting your hunger, so try to have it before dessert. This will help you control how much sweets you eat, if any!
7- Don’t drink too much alcohol! Drinking any type of alcohol usually opens up your appetite, which will make you eat more. You typically get hungry for salty items, which in turn make you retain water, and get you even more thirsty – so it’s basically a vicious circle of drinking and eating.
Stay healthy chix!
Kisses,
WCX