It is easy to get sidetracked, overindulge and lose sight of your fitness goals during the holidays.
Despite your best efforts on sticking to your fitness goals, there is no level of impulse control that will stop you from eating too many holiday cookies, or sneaking some stocking stuffers for yourself.
In saying this, we’ve prepared some tips to keep you focused on your goals during the holidays.
- Before heading to a holiday party, have a healthy, balanced dinner.
- If asked to attend a potluck party, bring something healthy.
- Eat on smaller plates for portion control.
- Fill your plate with vegetables and fruits first. These are usually brightly coloured foods. The fibre content within them is slower to digest, tricking your body into feeling fuller faster.
- Limit yourself to one alcoholic drink.
- Choose a lower calorie alcoholic drink and if possible add soda water to dilute the drink, spreading it out for a longer amount of time.
- Drink water to help reduce the amount of alcohol as well as to keep hydrated and flush out access sodium consumed from richer foods.
- Have three balance meals a day starting with a healthy breakfast.
- Store readily available healthy snacks in the fridge i.e., carrots, celery sticks, berries and apples.
- Go grocery shopping after you have had a meal to control hungry impulse buys.
- Make a grocery list and commit to it. No holiday themed cookies to eat on the way home!
- Park as far away as you can so you can get as much movement as possible.
- Get out for a walk every day, whether it is early morning or after the evening meal.
- Do not neglect your strength training program. It is useful for maintaining your strength and will increase your metabolic rate, (the body’s ability to burn more calories at rest).
- Avoid snacking during the holiday movie marathon. If you need to snack, try having fruits or vegetables instead of baked goods, chocolate or candy.
