Balanced Holiday Eating

Holidays are a time to celebrate, and eating is a part of celebrating. We indulge in foods we normally don't eat - and to me, that's just fine. The problem often starts to surface when we start to feel guilty about these indulgences which can often lead to more overeating on our normal days. As the guilt further cascades we might stop working out as hard with all of the holiday stress. Funny story on this - having held a seminar “Have a Healthier Thanksgiving” years back and thoughtfully and passionately going through all the strategies and recipes a gentleman said at the end – “how bad is indulging in one meal, anyway? I think I’d rather have the real thing and work out harder the next day.” I couldn't really disagree with this idea. He was entirely right – studies show that exercise is THE best way to maintain a healthy weight as it can cover the occasional dietary indulgence. Some might think I’m simply suggesting we eat whatever we want during the holidays – and just exercise more. The truth is that the mental shift away from the “I shouldn’t eat that” often allows us the ability to mindfully moderate as we enjoy our holiday get-togethers and meals. For example, showing up to a celebration slightly hungry vs. overly hungry can allow us to create a more balanced plate – ½ fruits and vegetables, ¼ protein and ¼ starch. This method allows us to moderate calories while not depriving ourselves of any given food. Another way of looking at balance – after your holiday indulgence day you may not feel as hungry the next day – so eat less. Also, throw in an extra day of exercise and you’ll do even more to balance the extra calories. The last point I’ll make is that you may only have 5-6 days of events out of the 40-day holiday stretch. This math folds quite nicely into what some call the 80/20 rule: you can get to where you want to go if 80% of the time you’re following your normal eating routine. All of us at Sound Health Connects wish you and your family a healthy and balanced holiday season! Kathryn Reed, MS, Certified Nutritionist