THE MONTHLY NUTRITION BITE - JAN'22

Holiday season may make sticking to your healthy eating habits challenging. However, it doesn’t have to be if you remember to implement the basics of healthy eating. Your favourite treats, drinks and desserts can still fit in without you having to feel guilty or worried about the calories or nutrients.

It’s important to remember that if there is some holiday weight gain, it should generally be small, because it’s really just one month of the year. And if you’ve been eating well through the year and supported your physiology, it really can’t be much if there is any at all, because your body is in a state of using calories not storing. But the weight gain can be worse if there has been fad dieting through the year – this will lead to the metabolism slowing down and much more weight gain will happen over the holidays, because your body is in a holding back energy state. So learn to do the right thing for your body during the year so that the small changes in eating over the holidays won’t lead to any unhappiness!

While what you do through the year is most important, it is also important to continue mindfulness and portion control during your holiday. Here are some ways to be mindful of your eating habits and to continue the good healthy habits into the festive season and holidays.

1. Don’t eat out on a hungry stomach! Make sure you have eaten regularly throughout the day so that you are not starving by the time you head out to eat. This will help keep portions controlled. Consider having a small snack before going out if it has been a while since you last ate. This will hold you over to the next to meal. Keeping calories for later promotes obsessing about food and takes away from the enjoyment of the food.
2. Starting the day with an early breakfast will make staying on track for the rest of the day so much easier.
3. Balance your meals with veggies, high fibre carbohydrates, protein and some fat to keep you feeling fuller for longer and to prevent mindless snacking.
4. If eating out at friends or family, ask whether you can bring a dish filled with vegetables or a big salad to ensure there is a healthy side to add to your meal.
5. Don’t forget about your water! If you are not drinking enough, the body will stop sending out the thirst signal and will send out a hunger signal instead, making appetite control challenging. Keep your water bottle on you at all times. Try flavouring the water with sliced fruit/ cucumber/ mint if you don’t like the taste of plain water. Try drinking glass of water between each alcoholic drink. Aside from all the calories, drinking also makes us less inhibited around food, and it becomes far harder to remember health.
6. Don’t deprive yourself of your favourite holiday foods. This will only increase your desire for them and lead to bingeing when you do eventually allow yourself to have those foods. Incorporate small portions of your favourite holiday foods and savour them by eating slowly and mindfully so that you don’t need a large portion.
7. Very important is that you don’t feel guilty when you do have something that you would normally not choose to eat. If we decide to have some dessert, and enjoy a small bit of it, guilt will only spoil the enjoyment of the dessert! Remember too that you don’t need to have something ‘special’ every time it is presented. Consciously choose the times that you are going to indulge. This is part of the planning!

Don’t let the festive season get in the way of your goals. Be proactive and identify your challenges in advance so that you have a plan when faced by them. By sticking to the basics you can still enjoy the special and delicious foods and festive meals that make the holiday season special to you.