The Holidays

Stephanie Carroll

The holidays are almost here.

With the holidays come endless gift baskets of food, parties with tons of food and not much time to workout. What are some good strategies to help from falling into the trap of over-eating junk food?

Aimee Tinkham

Hi! Happy Monday! The strategy I have used in the past is to eat things in moderation. One thing is heard that has stuck with me is “the 1st bite tastes the same as the last” So I have a few bites and move on. I also try to eat a healthy meal before going to parties so I’m full. Then the having a bite here and there doesn’t derail my overall goal and I still get to enjoy some treats. Leaving myself feeling fulfilled and happy. For me, life is too short to NOT eat the cookie. But everyone’s goals vary. I say ask yourself this...”is this getting me to my goal? Will I feel bad after I eat this? Will I be happy when I leave this party?” Those things help me too!

Mike Stack

This is such a rich question @Stephanie Carroll. I'm sure a number of people on our team will chime in, I'd really like to hear what our registered dietician @Bella Diaz has to say!

I'll throw in a few of my favorite strategies to get this started:

1) Go in with right mindset, yes junk food is around a lot, but if you think about it, junk food is around the rest of the year too and most people do fine (again I said "most" people, some people struggle no matter what, see number 2 for my suggestion there). With that said, try not to set yourself up for failure by being overly concerned about the amount of junk food that around. The same discipline you can use in September exists in December, you just have to apply it.

2) Construct your environment properly. Food environment makes such a big difference, and the best thing I can tell you here "is out of sight, out of mind." If you can find a way to keep the holiday food out of sight (not going into the breakroom at work as frequently, getting it out of the house, having your coworkers keep bowls of candy in their desks, etc.) you'll notice you'll consume less of it. This is backed by a large body of research that shows if it's in sight, you'll eat it.

3) Every time you eat some holiday "junk" food, drink 16oz of water. The process works like this, have one serving of the "junk" food (say a cookie or a handful of nuts or whatever it is) and then drink 16oz of water. After you've had the water walk away from wherever the junk food is (note: you'll probably need to keep you water with you if you're going to drink it after you eat, so walking back to get your water typically isn't a good strategy).

4) Shift your eating patterns to something healthier during this time of year. I realize this might seem counterintuitive, but stay with me here. If you know there's a chance you can over-consume "unplanned" calories during the holiday, then plan to consume healthier calories (and fewer of them) during your planned meals. For example, focus on protein, fruits, and veggies in every meal and then save the additional carbs (and calories) for the less than healthy holiday fare.

5) I'll end with one of my favorites b/c it's a simple one (in theory, harder to practice), I call it the ONE RULE and it's basically limiting yourself to ONE serving of whatever you're eating; so one serving of nuts, one serving of cookies (which is one cookie), one handful of popcorn, etc. You really limit the caloric effect of what you're consuming if you eat only one serving of it.

I hope this is helpful. AFS team, provide more suggestions, I know there's many many more we can provide for Stephanie and the rest of our clients.

Sawyer Paull-Baird

Great stuff here.

I will echo Mike's sentiments, particularly in regards to food environment. This could mean not keeping things in the house you don't want to eat, or it could mean making them less accessible (ie. junk food in a pantry or fridge in the basement; healthy food options in plain view such as a fruit bowl). Environment is everything. Don't rely on "willpower".. instead try to create an environment where you don't even need willpower. =)

However, sometimes you can't control your food environment such as at a party, or if a coworker brings food in. At the end of the day, I think it's important to give yourself unconditional permission to eat.. yes, even those holiday treats... I think @Bella Diaz could elaborate more on what this means a bit more, so I will wait for her to chime in.

Good topic, Stephanie!

Beth Manoogian

In addition to the suggestions above, I try to evaluate if the food in question is really "worth" the calories that I will be consuming. For example, people bring junk food into work all the time over the holidays. Do I really want to waste 150 calories on a crummy store-bought sugar cookie? No thank you, I'll save those for when my sister and I bake our annual batch of Manoogian christmas cookies. Is it worth it to eat a handful of those mini reese's pb cups? Not when I have my family's spinach dip to look forward to! These are family traditions I only get to have once or twice a year and are special treats for me, so it's easy to say no to other non-homemade items so I can say yes to the things that really matter.

Also, try not to let yourself deviate from your workout schedule over the holidays! My sister and I have a Thanksgiving tradition of working out before we make dinner, so it's nice that AFS Plymouth has stayed open Thanksgiving morning. We can get our workout in, and those lovely endorphins help prevent us from fighting the rest of the day! :) For me, my workouts are a non-negotiable built in piece of my weekly schedule, just like work or sleep are, and even with parties and stuff I refuse to compromise on these.

Finally, if you are going to be hosting (as I am this year 😳), consider offering some healthier food options for your guests! Or if you are not hosting, consider bringing a healthy dish to pass. I made buffalo cauliflower one year for xmas eve and even though only a few of us ate it, it was a nice to have a healthy side dish.

Maybe we could start a thread for healthy party/holiday recipe ideas that people can refer back to over the next couple months!

Stephanie Carroll

I appreciate the comments and feedback on this topic. @Beth Manoogian I LOVE the idea of sharing healthy party/holiday recipe ideas!

Beth Manoogian

https://afs.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/comment/298#Comment_298

@Stephanie Carroll I started a thread for this today! :)

Bella Diaz

Hello everyone- your AFS Registered Dietitian here! Thanks for asking this @Stephanie Carroll. This is SUCH a challenging topic & can cause a lot of added stress during the holidays- which it doesn't have to!! We should be using energy during this time of the year to participate in holiday traditions we love or spending time with loved ones, not stressing over whether to eat the cookie or not... life is TOO short!

I think the best strategies to fully enjoy the holiday food & also keep your health front of mind would include:

• Going off of @Sawyer Paull-Baird's comment, give yourself permission to eat these foods & ENJOY them! It is the bad food/good food mentality that often gets us in trouble with eating more than we are comfortable with. When we take the time to stay present & mindful when eating sweets or in my case, grandmas sweet potato casserole, we can get satisfaction from our food which allows us to simply eat, enjoy every bite, and move on without feeling like we need to eat more right now because we will never have it again!
• Trust that your body is incredibly DYNAMIC & has the ability to properly use the energy (calories) from a holiday meal or three meals appropriately! There is a chance that we will be eating more calories or different, less-nutritious foods than normal, but your body has your back. This will not ruin your health progress up to this point as long as we treat this as a special occasion and not an every-day event.
• Treat this day like any other & still make sure to drink adequate water & enjoy the delicious fruit/ vegetable dishes that people bring. Your body will feel more energized and your stomach will thank you if you make sure that you balance out your plate to include nutrient-dense options as well!
• Like @Beth Manoogian mentioned, it is important to pick items that you really LOVE & will bring you the most joy. Sometimes it is unrealistic to think that we will only try one dessert all of thanksgiving evening, but make sure that the desserts you do try are structured & exciting to you! Just because there are 4 pies does not mean you have to try every one, pick the ones that you know you will enjoy fully, and say "no thank you" to the rest!

It is important to remember that food is meant to fuel us in MANY ways. We way not be fueling our physical health to the best of our abilities during Thanksgiving dinner, but what we will be fueling is our emotional, social, and mental health by being with family & friends & enjoying delicious food! And this is JUST as important to be well-rounded healthy human beings <3

Heidi Morris

One of my favorite ways to help with the unexpected extra holiday treats-

if I am at a party or something where cookies or dessert are present, instead of not eating them at all, I tell the host I would like to take some home for breakfast. I know, sweets for breakfast isn't the most healthy option out there. But, first, I believe sweets always need to be paired with coffee IMO. And then I don't always end up eating them, because they don't seem quite so tempting at 5:30am. But if I do eat them, I feel quite satisfied the rest of the day with avoiding any other future sweets I run into because I know I already have had a treat.

As a bonus, I feel like I am not shunning the hosts baking or buying dessert efforts, and, I don't appear to be some proud non-dessert eater either :)