Keeping up with our diet is especially difficult (or seemingly impossible) during the holiday season. But if we plan in advance, we can eat well and enjoy our upcoming parties and festivities without worrying too much about our weight.
Some people are so worried about gaining extra pounds during the holidays that they go as far as to bring their own with them to parties! Come on now – we all deserve a break from time to time.
If you’re on a low carb diet, protein or the Dukan diet, you might even feel tempted to do that, and there’s no need.
All you really have to do is balance your meals by eating less than usual during non-important days, so that you can afford to eat more during festivities. Just pick the healthiest food from the options your hosts give you, and you really don’t need to worry about bringing your own food.
Now here a a few more simple and practical tips you can use to sustain your weight loss program and enjoy a good celebration:
– If you’re hosting yourself, sneak in lighter ingredients into your traditional recipes. That way, everyone tastes their favorite dishes AND it’s healthier at the same time! Vegetables, white meat (turkey or chicken), non-fat cream (and so on) for the main dishes, fruits instead of condensed milk and chocolate made of less than 50% cocoa for the deserts.
– Parties tend to attract a significant amount of booze, but let’s not forget that even champagne has calories. If you’re going to drink, you could try giving preference to drinks with fewer calories, like wine.
One glass of red wine per day is actually good for your health, so you shouldn’t feel like you have to shy away from the bar section all together.
– Make a salad the first thing you eat. Salads are rich in fibers, which helps decrease the absorption of fats from other foods. They’ll also help you feel sated faster.
– Appetizers such as nuts will make your meal more caloric, but they’re also rich in unsaturated fats, which are good for your body. If consumed in small quantities, their oil seeds will have beneficial effects. Just pay attention to the quantity you’re eating.
Remember, the secret isn’t about eating less or trying not to look at all the food in front of you during festivities, but simply to maintain an overall balance. Eat less between celebrations to make up for the extra calories.
You can use Evolve to check how many calories you’re consuming every day. If you’re really serious, you can choose the most difficult level in the app which will even stimulate you to go on a fasting diet so that you can lose some extra pounds fast.