A few years ago I thought that enjoying the holidays meant I needed to drink up all the warm cider and hot chocolates that were offered to me. That I needed to indulge in sweets and serve myself large helping multiple times in order to be merry. I was not aware of any holiday healthy eating tips which would have saved me about 5 lbs!
I left that year heavier than I started and feeling bad about the results of my decisions. Each year the holidays seemed to take control of me. Until I decided that I needed to take control back.
I developed a game plan: 3 holiday healthy eating tips to survive the holidays without sacrificing my healthy lifestyle.
#1 Plan to eat without guilt
There are days when I will just eat whatever I please. Between now and the New Year pick three days when you can eat as you like. My three are Christmas Dinner, New Year’s Day Brunch, and 1 other meal that will just come up. During that time there will be plenty of pecan pie slices topped with ice cream and my brother-in-law’s delicious (and bottomless!) Godiva Chocolate liqueur cocktail going in my belly on those days. Other days, I’m going to try my best not to go off track (but I’m not perfect).
#2 Love and savor your indulgences
Make sure you really like what you’re indulging in. Sometimes, the food on our plates is the food that you’re supposed to eat for that event. Maybe there’s a serving of mashed potatoes – but you don’t really like mashed potatoes, or you don’t really like THOSE mashed potatoes. Indulge in a food you LOVE – not just any food that’s available. This means that you don’t want to indulge in everything – just a few select things.
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#3 Try smaller portions than last year and eat slowly
With so much eye candy and food to eat, try the food, but just in smaller portions than you may have eaten last year (if you’re like me and you overdid it in the past). Have half of a biscuit and a smaller scoop of noodles. Take 10-15 minutes after you have eaten to let it digest, and you will realize that you’re not as hungry – and you WILL avoid feeling that dreadful super full feeling where you have to unbutton your pants before the night is over.
For a free holiday healthy eating recipe book, check out my post on “Vegan Holiday Recipes + Healthy Holiday Tips” and download the free recipe book!
Where do you purchase the ceylon cinnamon?