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This article from The Art of Manliness is very timely right now, since Thanksgiving is coming up tomorrow!
The holidays are just around the corner and that means food.How to Feast at the Holidays Without Packing on the Pounds:
Lots and lots of delicious food.
Turkey, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, rolls, pumpkin pie. Mmm . . . mmm . . . mmm.
My mouth is watering just typing that out.
You hit that smorgashboard at Thanksgiving and then a month later you’re doing it again at Christmas, and in-between there are often parties, gift baskets, and dropped-off platters of cookies to wade through.
While holiday feasting is great for activating the pleasure centers in your brain, it’s not so great for your waistline. All that tasty carby and fatty food eaten in excess can put on the pounds. In fact, most people do indeed gain about 1 to 2 lbs during the holiday season. That may not sound like much, ‘til you consider that adding 2 pounds of fat each year for 30 years will leave you 60 pounds overweight. That’s a recipe for a bowl-of-jelly-esque belly.
So how can you enjoy those holiday meals without throwing off your nutrition plan? Are you doomed to eating just the celery and carrot sticks your mom puts out as a before-dinner snack? Will you have to bring your own premade meal while you watch everyone else eat Grandma’s delicious stuffing and pumpkin pie?
- Preliminary: start tracking your macros.
- Keep your holiday eating to the actual holidays.
- Watch your nutrition leading up to the big meal.
- Pregame your holiday feasting with 1-2 small meals.
- Eat slowly and wait a minimum of 10 minutes after finishing your first plate before going back for a second helping.
- Go for a walk within an hour of finishing your meal.
- Don’t beat yourself up about enjoying yourself.
- Don’t freak out about sudden weight gain and waist size expansion the day after your holiday gorging.
- Manage leftovers.
Most of us won’t be able to either “cut” weight significantly or totally restrain ourselves from indulging during the holiday season. But we can maintain our current weight, and be content with this static interlude before the new year dawns. Aim to be in the same place come January as you were at the beginning of November. Gillian does this by weighing/measuring herself at the beginning of November and setting the intention to be in around the same place on New Year’s Day, and then intermittently checking in on her progress between those dates. Do likewise, and weigh and measure yourself each week. If you notice your weight creeping up more than it should during the holidays (usually more than a pound a week), this might mean adding some cardio or even being a bit more strict on your calorie intake on days you don’t need to splurge. Again: don’t beat yourself up; just do your best. And if you make changes, make small changes. Not drastic ones.
There you go: how to eat and enjoy yourself this holiday season without putting on (too) much weight.
Be sure to check out the article for all the details.
Interesting days
Tomorrow - Thanksgiving, Turkey Free Thanksgiving and Day of Mourning
Month long celebrations:
Nov 26 - Dec 31: A Blue Christmas
Next Wednesday - Fritters Day
Month long celebrations:
Nov 26 - Dec 31: A Blue Christmas
December 25 - Christmas and Pumpkin Pie Day
Month long celebrations:
Nov 26 - Dec 31: A Blue Christmas
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