The Holiday season is generally when we relax a little; we break out our favorite sweaters, and we send our weight loss goals on a vacation! So here are a few tips on how you can stay slim through the holidays.
Don’t skip meals: When you allow yourself to get too hungry, you run the risk of eating more (unhealthy) food later and wasting calories on fattening treats you didn’t really want to eat in the first place. Instead, eat on a schedule. In Phase 1 of the Ideal Protein protocol and on maintenance, we encourage you to eat 4 times a day, approximately 4 to 4 ½ hours apart. Be sure to get your veggies in!
Eat protein! Whether it’s a holiday party for Thanksgiving or Christmas, where dinner is going to be a feast or you’ll be grazing on hors-d’oeuvres, eat breakfast, lunch, and snacks that are heavy on lean protein (chicken, fish, turkey) and veggies, and light on fat, sugar, and starch. Protein and fiber are the most filling nutrients around, so even though you’ll be eating fewer calories, you’ll still feel satisfied. Fill your plate with salad and protein first, before indulging in any of the goodies. You’ll be more satisfied and less likely to indulge.
Drink lots of water — including two glasses before lunch and two glasses before dinner. Mild dehydration mimics the sensation of hunger and drinking water prior to a meal starts to fill you up before you take your first bite of food so you’ll eat less.
Eat plenty of “Unlimited Foods” throughout the day. These foods contain few or no calories, which is why you can eat as much as you want of them. Make sure you have a variety on hand at all times. These foods include lettuce, celery, cucumber, endive, mushrooms, radicchio, radish, romaine lettuce, spinach and watercress lettuce. Snacking on these foods can prevent you from reaching for something less healthy when hunger strikes. Snacking on these foods will also keep you from feeling deprived when you are tempted at a party that night.
Have a restricted Ideal Protein food item that you find sweet or savory before the gathering. This will help you to feel satisfied and reduce the cravings for salty or sweet snacks.
Keep to the perimeter of the party – food and goodies are normally centrally located in the kitchen, socialize and chat away from the food.
Make sure you exercise for 30 to 60 minutes five or more days per week (except on Phase 1). If you are on Phase 1 of the Ideal Protein protocol then exercise needs to be light. In maintenance, 30 to 60 minutes as often as you can get it in is a wonderful idea. Exercise is a terrific stress buster—which makes it even more crucial now because holidays can be a trigger for people prone to stress eating. Try to include some light resistance exercise, yoga, or walking. Check out some of our programs here.
No picking at endless leftovers!
If you find the holidays stressful, check out this natural stress relieving spray. Made from the essences of flowers, it is sugar-free, gluten free and vegan. Spray it in your mouth throughout the day. It is non habit forming and tastes delicious. Bach RESCUE REMEDY. (Homeopathic Flower Remedy). Shop Rescue Remedy
Check out my recommended reading and favorite books. “How Not To Die,” “Eat to Beat Disease,” “The Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Living,” Shop Books
