Losing weight is already a hard process for many, but also adding the pressure to eat more food with the family is difficult. Everyone knows that during the holiday season we all end up putting on some winter weight. Not a great thing to happen for people trying to cut down during their winter arcs or as part of their fitness program. However there are simple tips to keep lower the amount of food you can eat allowing you to enjoy the holiday season with no guilt about cheating on your diet.
Tip 1: Practice Portion Control
Practicing portion control is really helpful in cutting down your eating by allowing you to control your eating habits. Since many of us have been taught to eat everything on our plates otherwise we would have been told a common threat "Eat it or Wear it" when we were younger. By simply allowing more space on our plates instead of trying to fill our plates to the maximum capacity, and instead opting for multiple lighter plates. Giving our bodies time to catch up and realize we are full faster, instead of after when we are hurting from so much food.
Tip 2: Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated helps keep our stomachs fuller from the water you drink throughout the day. Helping us not eat as much because we'll feel fuller with less because there is less space in our stomachs from drinking plenty of water and other hydrating liquids.
Tip 3: Prioritize Protein
When filling up your plate with all of the different kinds of food opt for your plate having plenty of high protein sources like meat, beans, etc. Having more of your plate being filled with protein will fill you up faster with the protein, causing you also to eat less food and overindulge yourself in the higher calorie foods like desserts.
Tip 4: Get Moving
Exercise is a great way to burn calories but there many exercises that cause us to feel more hungry which in turn causes us to eat more than we need to. The trick is to do exercises that our bodies doesn't notice as much like getting your steps in. Getting 10,000 steps in a day will burn 500 calories, 100 calories burned per 2,000 steps, without our bodies noticing as much as going for a run. There is also plenty of evidence that going for a walk after having meals can also help digestion and bloating. Walking is a low "effort" exercise because after a long run or heavy weight session causes us to feel tired and hungry fast while walking doesn't do that nearly as much.
Tip 5: Don't Skip Meals
Making sure that your body isn't as hungry when you go to enjoy a big holiday dinner helps stop you before overindulging in the food. Since you won't have to feel like you need to eat as much because you have eaten throughout the day. Especially when compared to the hunger you feel when you haven't ate anything all day. P.S. Drinking a protein shake an hour or 2 before going to your holiday dinner helps you eat less as well.
Tip 6: Pick Your Sweets
When on diet a lot of the work comes down to tracking calories, and when you do that on what dessert options you have can help. If you can find dessert that still tastes good with lower calories than other options, or by finding high protein recipes alternatives for some staple holiday desserts. Will help lower the amount of calories you eat overall throughout the season.
Tip 7: Limit Liquid Calories
Limiting the calories we get from drinks helps us cut our calorie counts down quite well. Many people drink soda or alcohol during the holidays, but being more mindful when drinking these beverages can really make a difference for our diet goals. Staying to the diet options of soda or sticking to water can help reduce calorie counts.
Tip 8: Slowing Yourself Down
Simply slowing ourselves down when eating can help your stomach catch up and signal to your brain that you're full. You don't have slow yourself way down but simply slowing down a few seconds here or there can help. Especially when switching for multiple lighter plates can give time between these smaller portions that allow your mind to essentially check to see if your full or not.
Tip 9: Change The Recipes
Trying to find different low calorie recipes for holiday dinners is super helpful. A simple change in the recipe can half the amount of calories in a certain food dish. Switching a couple recipes here and there can lower your calorie count from anywhere from 300-700 your overall calories.
Tip 10: Stop Stressing Over Slip-Ups
We have to realize that sticking to a diet can be hard especially when the holiday season comes around. Understanding that mistakes can happen and missing a day or more won't have that big of an impact in the bigger picture. As long as you stay consistent with your diet for majority of the time you will see the benefits even though there were mistakes along the way.
Conclusion
Sticking to a diet is a hard endeavor for many people already, but keeping it simple will make it a lot easier. Using these simple tips and applying them when you can will make it a lot easier to enjoy the holiday season and being with your family. Instead of being over-stressed that you're failing your diet, be comfortable knowing that you are doing what you can to stick with the diet. Remember that no one is perfect we all have mistakes and that as long as we are consistent in the long-run these small mistakes won't derail our entire goal.