Top 6 Eating Tips For The Run Up To Christmas

Thursday, December 4, 2008
I usually preface my blogs with some sort of intro, but these tips are pretty self-explanatory, so let's get to 'em:

1. Don't Fast Before Big Meals
Many people make the mistake of avoiding food altogether on days where they know that they're going to a holiday party or a big dinner.  It's a huge mistake.  First, you're far more liable to overeat if you haven't had anything in your stomach, so you're making a bad thing worse.  Second, when you don't eat regularly, your body enters fasting mode, lowering your metabolism and ensuring that you store much of your next meal as fat.

2. Drink Your H2O
Most people don't drink enough water.  Even fewer do it during the holidays.  Water is so crucial to everything your body does, and better yet, it helps fill your stomach and prevent overeating.

3. DON'T Drink Your Boose
It doesn't matter if it's beer, wine, cocktails or anything else, alcohol is an absolute no-no for slim waists.  Alcohol will help you put on body weight in so many different ways...
   -It's calorie dense
   -It's NOT satiating
   -You eat worse foods with it
   -It slows your body's fat burning mechanisms
As tempting as it is to carry around a drink at the holiday party, don't do it - unless it's water.

4. Eat Before Parties And Get-Togethers
Have something healthy to eat before you go to a party.  Try to include choices that are high in protein and fiber.  Veggies are always a great choice for food to eat before a party.  Just avoid the high-calorie dips - why everyone has to have their food dipped in some other food, I'll never know.  What I do know, those dips and sauces aren't going to do anything positive for your body composition.

5. Don't Snack On Little Treats
Make sure you know when you're going to eat and eat then.  Most parties - heck, most offices - have some sort of fatty, sugary treat sitting around just waiting to make your pants tighter.  Most holiday treats are 100 calories apiece - MINIMUM.  If you munch on just a couple of them a couple times a day.  It adds up to an average of 619 extra calories eaten each day during the holidays by your average American.

6. Moderation, Moderation, Moderation
At this point it may sound like I'm telling you to eat nothing but steamed veggies and chicken breast over the holidays.  Nope.  The key is, as always, moderation.  You should never, NEVER, binge on food.  I talked about this awhile ago, but "living a little" shouldn't involve doing something blatantly unhealthy, which binge eating most certainly is.  Give yourself a treat, but remember that your stomach is not as big as much of what we eat during the holidays.  It's amazing what a difference lowering your portion sizes can make.

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