Eating Healthy During the Holidays
With the holiday season in full swing, the temptation to indulge constantly in treats is huge. Luckily, you don’t have to say no to everything to keep your energy level (and your waistline) in check. Follow these simple tips and tricks to keep your body looking its best and functioning at its peak.
Keep your blood sugar levels in check. In an attempt to prevent weight gain from all the extra sugary treats, a person can be tempted to skip the healthy food to save on overall calories. This can backfire easily by sending your insulin levels soaring. Having consistently high blood sugar levels sets up your body for a slew of illnesses and creates a breeding ground for lifestyle diseases, including migraines, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, dizziness, itchiness, unexplained pain and a general feeling of being unwell. To keep your blood sugar in check, try to eat sweets alongside some protein and healthy fat, munch a small healthy snack (such as an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter) every three hours and reduce sugar consumption at breakfast and lunch.
Commit to eating breakfast all season long. After overindulging the night before, skipping breakfast can be tempting, especially if you stayed up extra late. However, doing so actually sets up your body up for additional weight gain. The name breakfast comes from the phrase “break the fast.” By eating within an hour of waking up, you kick-start your metabolism and let it know it is time to start burning calories. If you make healthy choices, you also will be giving your body the energy it needs to make it through the day. Even a piece of fruit and a handful of nuts is enough to do the trick. The “I don’t have time” excuse does not fly.
Failing to plan is a plan to fail. Take time to do a little meal planning. Every week, take a few minutes to sit down with your planner and come up with a meal strategy. Sydni Wessels, Shawnee mom and Cross Fit coach, believes this is a crucial step to feeling your best. On weeknights that you know will be rushed, plan a crock pot meal you can throw together in the morning or even before bed the night before. Have a few extra hours on Sunday afternoon? Make a big pot of soup, cut veggies for the week and assemble a casserole or two. Then when the dinner rush hits, you will know you have nutritious food prepared and ready. This makes it much easier to avoid the drive-thru!
Stay hydrated. When the weather gets cool and the schedule gets busy, remembering to drink water can be a challenge. Water nourishes the body on a cellular level. When you don’t get enough, you become easily fatigued, get headaches and can experience brain fog. Often, we mistake our body’s request for thirst as hunger, so it also can contribute to the holiday weight gain. On average, our bodies need about eight glasses of water a day. When we fail to drink enough of it, we become dehydrated and our bodies often confuse hunger with thirst.
Be proactive with your immune system. First and foremost, try to “eat the rainbow” every day. Choosing brightly colored fruits and vegetables is the strongest defense you have to keep your immune system up and running like a finely tuned machine. After that, try to get at least 15 minutes of fresh air each day. When working at your desk, set an alarm to go off every 20 minutes. When it goes off, stand up and move for 20 seconds. Do jumping jacks, squats or lunges, or run in place. Dr. Anthony Evans, Prairie Village dad and chiropractor, reminds that adding just one minute of vigorous exercise an hour is a great way to keep the immune system strong.
Savor your sweets. Finally, when you do choose to indulge in a decadent treat over the holidays, stop what you’re doing and actually savor what you are putting in your mouth. If what you are eating has memories attached to it, take a moment to close your eyes and think back. After all, that’s the best part of the holidays: creating new memories for your family and reminiscing about sweet times from the past.
Shawnee mom Katie Newell is a certified nutrition coach with a passion for helping families become better. She is also a culinary instructor, cookbook author and mama to two sweet girls, ages 7 and 8. HealthnutFoodie.com.