This week officially starts the holiday season! If you’ve started down a plant-strong road, you do not want to turn back now, but how do you keep healthy during the holidays?
1. MOVE! So often meals around the holidays mean that you eat a ton of food and then go watch the game or sit around for a few hours after. This season make a commitment to get up and move! Take a walk in the morning, go for a family walk after a meal. Go play a game of touch football with your friends, go sledding or ice skating!
2. Watch that snacking! You can easily eat a meals worth of calories just in snacking throughout the day. If you really need to snack between meals, make sure you have healthy options ready to go in the kitchen. Things like grapes, cut up carrots and celery are great things to snack on.
3. Watch your portions at main meals. Have a few bites of your favorite plant-strong dishes, but try not to go overboard when it comes to portions. You will feel a lot better later on (and so will your waist line).
4. Find other activities aside from eating. Why not go to a craft store and pick up a fun holiday craft to do with all the kids this year? Play board games, get the Wii out for some rounds of bowling. Finding other activities that do not involve eating can make the day a lot more fun, and keep you away from overeating.
5. Have a plan! Planning is key to the holiday season. Know what you are going to eat before you head to Aunt Mildred’s house. Maybe Aunt Mildred likes to deep fry her mashed potatoes and make 60 pies… Don’t let Aunt Mildred’s sweet smile fool you, stay away from the unhealthy food and bring your own, and remind yourself that Aunt Mildred is great for other reasons, aside from her 60 pies.
6. Eat before you go! Have a big healthy salad before you go to an event, that way your belly is filled with plant-strong goodness and you won’t be famished when you get to Aunt Mildred’s and her fried mashed potatoes will have less power over you.
7. Google! You can find some really great fat free plant-strong meals online, there are thousands of recipes to be found! Typing in: fat free vegan with the name of the dish you’d like to make works most of the time. So if you were looking for a healthy mashed potato just type into google: fat free vegan mashed potatoes. Show up Aunt Mildred and her fried mashed potatoes!
8. Dance! Put on some holiday music and take Aunt Mildred for a spin on the dance floor (kitchen floor) – she probably needs it after all of those pies! Having fun is important to staying healthy.
9. Skip the things that are most tempting for you. It’s okay to say no to some gatherings that you feel are going to be too much stress for you or too unhealthy for you. Everyone is busy this time of year, so it’s okay to say that you’d LOVE to attend the holiday cookie exchange, but you unfortunately have a prior commitment.
10. Celebrate your health! Celebrate that this year you will have a healthy holiday season, that you will get to the New Year with out having to make yet another resolution, but instead just continue the one you have already made to yourself. This season give yourself the gift of good health, that’s something that really does keep giving.
As always – remember we are here for you during the Holidays! We’ll even be around on Thanksgiving to help you out! Please like us on facebook on the Engine 2 diet page or Rip and teams wall or on twitter: @engine2diet
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