Cooler temps, shorter days, Holiday parties, rich, calorie-dense, high sugar foods, empty calorie beverages, not to mention stress and less sleep…the perfect storm for some of us to gain a few pounds of unwanted fat. This article addresses some ways to get through the Holiday season thriving and maintaining control, fitness, and physique.

As the saying goes, “consistency is the key to success.” Well, consistently consuming more high calorie, high fat, high sugar foods, and empty calories during the Holiday season will successfully lead to some unwanted weight gain.

On the other hand, a few indulgent meals, will not result in tighter jeans during the Holidays. It’s week after week, party after party, bottles of wine, candies and desserts within reach from Thanksgiving through New Year’s that can cause an uptick in weight and spiral into that feeling that you have lost control of your eating habits.

You CAN enjoy the Holidays and all the rich foods, desserts, and beverages that it brings while also maintaining, or even improving, your health, fitness, and body composition. Here are a few tips how:

1. Clean your pantry and refrigerator

Out of sight, out of mind? If you’re like me, when chips, desserts, and wine is in the house it’s going to be consumed. If you don’t have desserts and rich, calories dense foods within reach at home, you are more likely to avoid them. It would take getting in the car and driving to the store just to buy junk food.

So, step 1 is to de-junk your house. Donate to the neighbor kids, take to a party, take to work, or toss in the trash. Get those addictive high fat and high sugar foods out of the house.

2. Follow the “Meal Formula”

Now that you have tossed all the junk food and desserts, it’s time to restock with only healthy foods. But what do you eat? Keep it simple. Follow this simple formula for all (or most) meals during the day.

Protein + Vegetable + Healthy Fat + Starch

For example: eggs with spinach and potato or chicken with broccoli and rice.

A brief breakdown:

Proteins: Complete proteins include meats, eggs, quinoa, tofu, and tempeh to name a few. Other foods have proteins but do not contain all 9 essential amino acids, therefore combine with other foods to make a complete protein (beans and rice).
Veggies: Make 1/2 your plate veggies!
Fats: Cook with olive oil or butter, use healthy fats in salad dressings, eat a fatty fish.
Starch: one-word ingredient starches are best (rice, potato, oats, quinoa, beans). Eat less processed starches such as breads and pasta, and even less chips, crackers, tortillas, cookies, candies, etc.

3. Get on an eating schedule

Now that you know what to eat from #2, think about your daily schedule and plan on when you are going to eat. Eat every 3-5 hours. It might look something like this:

Meal 1: 7am Breakfast (don’t skip – get that metabolism running from the start of the day!) – protein oats (oatmeal with a scoop of protein powder and peanut butter)

Meal 2: 12pm Lunch: ground turkey vegetable stir fry with brown rice

Meal 3: 4pm Snack: Hummus with carrots and 2oz chicken

Workout: 5:30 – 30 minutes cardio and 30 minutes weights

Meal 4: 7pm Dinner: Steak with asparagus and sweet potato

Meal 5: (optional): After dinner snack – ½ cup Greek yogurt with handful berries

4. Have a party? Eat a small healthy meal before

You are more likely to over-do it when you arrive to a party hungry. You might also have limited healthy choices, but you have to eat so you dig in to party food. A trick of eating a small healthy meal before the party can help you stay on track. Your meal should have a protein and vegetable. The protein is satiating, curbing your hunger at the party. The veggies provide nutrients, fiber, and will keep you regular the next day ;-) Enjoy smaller portions of the party foods and drinks.

5. Drink a glass of water between alcoholic beverages

Calorie intake can increase greatly just by partaking in higher alcohol consumption alone during the Holidays. The bad news is that these are mostly “empty” calories,” meaning that the body uses calories from alcohol for energy but alcohol had no nutrient value. Also, alcohol is toxic to the body and cannot be stored in the body. This also means there must be a continuous oxidation (breakdown) of alcohol to rid it from the body, therefore alcohol becomes the body’s priority fuel to be metabolized. Pace yourself and stay hydrated by drinking a glass of water between alcohol beverages.

6. Exercise more

Call it bulking season, but if you only increase how much you put in your mouth, body weight will most likely go up. One way to help offset an increase in calories consumed is to exercise a little more. Exercise does more than just burn calories. In fact, you would need to spend a great deal more time to burn the calories of one cookie than it takes to eat it. Even more time for every cookie, bite of pie, mac n cheese casserole, etc. that you eat.

When you exercise, whether it be cardiovascular or weight training, your muscles get better at use fat and carbohydrates for energy, thus helping manage blood sugar and insulin responses, and increase fat oxidation. In addition, exercise provides a more positive and disciplined mindset through the Holidays.

If you are not an exerciser, this is a great time to get started. Beat the New Year’s rush to the gym. Go with friends. Studies show that women who have a workout friend or group tend to stick with a program longer. If you’d rather stay home, You Tube has endless free workout videos. Even a brisk walk after dinner has been shown to increase glucose control.

7. The law of diminishing returns

The law of diminishing returns refers to the notion that the more you eat, the less you enjoy it. Here are 2 rules to live by during the Holidays that take this law into account.

First, make sure your plate have vegetables and protein and if you indulge in a heavy side or dessert try the “cut in half” rule. Simply cut your portion in half.

Want seconds? Employ the “wait 10 minutes” rule by waiting 10 minutes, drink some water, and mingle. If you are still wanting more then go back for the seconds. The law of diminishing returns says you likely will not enjoy seconds as much as firsts!

8. Get 7-9 hours of sleep

Sleep is an essential function that allows your body and mind to recharge. Healthy sleep helps the body remain healthy and stave off diseases. Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly.

Reduced sleep during the Holidays can lead to disruptions in cortisol secretion (the body’s stress hormone) which can lead to weight gain. Reduced sleep can also disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm, increase depressive symptoms and anxiety, reduce your ability to focus and think clearly. Tt can delay reaction time, and cause mood shifts, turning you into the Grinch.

A few tips for better sleep: Make a bedtime routine that helps you wind down from the day and establish a realistic bedtime. Make your room dark and cool. Avoid looking at screens 2 hours before bed. Avoid drinking alcohol at least 2-3 hours before bed. Avoid high sugar and high fat foods 3 hours before bed. Finish your last meal 3 hours before bed. Exercising during the day (not too late) has been shown to help with sleep.

9. Reduce stress

This time of year can bring a great deal of stress. Work stress, family stress, social events, etc. Like mentioned above, high stress can disrupt cortisol secretion which can contribute to weight gain, increase cravings, increase blood sugar, reduce (or increase) sleep, turn you into the Grinch, and much more. Find a few healthy ways to manage your stress. For example, get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. Meditate and breath for 10 minutes in a quiet place. Take a walk, read, get organized, talk with a friend, whatever may help reduce your stress during this time.

Nutrition Consult

By Dr. Kat Sweatt, PhD

9 Health and Nutrition Tips for the Holidays