How to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain

by Hilton Head Health Registered Dietician, Felicia Hackett, RD

The holiday season is here and our healthy lifestyle has now become part of our holiday wishlist. Here are some strategies to help you optimize your healthy choices during this special time of year.

Thanksgiving

Be a Thoughtful Grazer

Focus on expressing gratitude rather than ruminating on food this Thanksgiving. Spend your time connecting with family and friends or practicing being thankful for your year of accomplishments. Try occupying your mind and body with activities like getting together for a flag football game or entertaining your guests.

When you do reach for food, grab for nutrient dense fare made of vegetables or fruit. Skip on the creamy and choose herbs and spices as flavor enhancers. For dessert think sliver not slice or dollop, not scoop. Make the Thanksgiving beverage a low-calorie Thanksgiving herbal iced-tea like cranberry vanilla or make that holiday wine a wine spritzer.

Make your day more about the thanks and the giving and less about the thoughtless grazing.

December Holidays

Think Small Wins

The month of December is all about holiday parties and the bombardment of tasty food and drinks that come with them. Think small wins throughout the month long celebration.

"Small wins turn into transformative changes."

Pat yourself on the back for skipping on the Christmas cookie or fruit cake. Go for the big win and challenge yourself to a “0” gain weight goal going into the New Year. This way you get after your New Year’s resolutions instead of thinking you have to lose pesky holiday weight first. Avoid tempting fate by not standing near the seasonal cookies, pies, and candies and position yourself away from the food; out of sight, out of mind.  Include more mindful food experiences that create mindful pauses like cracking almonds to get to the crunchy nut.

Last tip for the holidays. Take notice of your holiday nutrition behaviors and see if you can tweak it slightly so that it aligns better with your food and fitness goals. For example why not change Santa’s cookies to Reindeer food of carrot sticks.

Happy Holidays and cheers to family and friends.

Fave Holiday Foods and Fitness Moves

It’s that time of year again! The Holiday Season seems to come and go so quickly that you just have to eat all your favorite holiday foods before you have to jump back into your health and wellness routine. But have you ever thought about what you’d have to do to make up for those extra, delicious holiday calories? You may want to rethink that second helping or substitute your traditional favorites with some healthier options, once you take a look at the type of workout it takes to expend your holiday intake.

Fave Holiday Dish: Stuffing (1 cup)
Calorie Count: 352
Exercise: 35 minutes Jump Rope




Fave Holiday Dish: Turkey and gravy
Average Serving Calorie Count: 270
Exercise: 30 minutes of Lunges



Fave Holiday Dish: Slice of Pumpkin pie
Average Serving Calorie Count: 323
Exercise: 230 burpees



Fave Holiday Dish: 1 Sugar Cookie
Average Serving Calorie Count: 113
Exercise: 375 Push ups

Tis' the Season to Stay on Track

It’s that time of year again. The hustle and bustle of holiday season is here; full of family, friends, long lines, company parties and not to mention those irresistible holiday treats everywhere you turn. With all that is coming up in the next few months, some of you are probably wondering how you’re going to maintain a healthy diet and exercise routine while juggling your increasingly hectic schedule. Don’t worry!  With the right attitude and a little planning, staying on track will be a breeze.

• Set a realistic goal for the holiday season: aim to maintain your weight rather than lose weight.


• Focus on the conversation and the company rather than the food.


• Skip the high-fat foods you can get any time (e.g., nuts, cheese, chips) so you can enjoy a small amount of the truly special foods that are only available once a year.


• Put some distance between yourself and the food table. Carry a glass of sparkling water.


• Eat a snack or light meal before you go, that way you aren’t heading straight to the buffet table.


• Limit your alcohol intake. Eat before you drink.


• When hosting a party, plan an activity (e.g. touch football game, walk around neighborhood to view holiday lights) before or after the meal.


• If you eat more than you planned, keep it in perspective. If you get right back on track at your next meal, you haven’t done much damage. If you wait until Monday to start over, the extra calories may add up to a few pounds.

The goal is simple– to maintain your momentum through the holiday season in order to make it to the New Year.  Remember, something is always better than nothing! 

Be sure to use the resources within this website to help keep you on track - workout routines for those in a crunch, healthy recipe alternatives (but still yummy) and even time management worksheets!

Keep a Level Head (and Scale) This Holiday Season

This time of year, my mind is filled with wonderful things like gatherings, giving, family and friends, memories, and traditions…. But there is also a reality of increased stress, deadlines, last minute shopping, heavy crowds, cold weather, minimal daylight and way too much fruit cake, and the fear of packing on the pounds you’ve worked hard all year to lose.  Fortunately, we do have this little something called hope… check out these 4 points to help you keep a level head (and a level scale) during the holidays:

1)    Re-Establish your Goals

• Consider adjusting your expectations from losing 1-2 pounds per week to 0-1.  Weight maintenance during the holidays can be just as big a success as losing 5 pounds last month.  If you typically gain 5 pounds over the holidays, and you maintain this year, theoretically you’ve lost 5 pounds, considering the track record! 


• Re-set boundaries for foods like sweets and comfort foods – consider what you feel you can manage without feeling deprived.


• Set new goals for maintaining your exercise program through the holiday season.  Give yourself an incentive to help motivate you to stick to it.  Remember, it’s that habit you want to keep alive, even if you decide to scale back a bit.

2)    Brainstorm holiday gatherings and come up with a plan

• Opt to bring a healthy dish to the pitch-in so that you are confident there is something you feel comfortable eating and can share your healthy alternative with others.


• Do not show up on an empty stomach.


• Food before alcohol

3)    Carve time out for your special holiday tasks – and set priorities and limits for yourself.

• Deep cleaning the house (or splurge and have it done for you)


• Hanging decorations


• Shopping and gift wrapping


• Volunteer time

4)    Make time for reflection.

• Reflect on the gifts, opportunities, and memories you’ve received this year


• Take time to share your love with friends and family.


• Think about what new goals and memories you’d like to create for 2011!

 

From our doors to yours, Happy Holidays, and we are thankful for all the memories you’ve created with us at H3!