If you’re the one who does the cooking during the holidays, you have more control over the ingredients and how meals are cooked. But what if others do the cooking? If you can, you should do most of the cooking during the holidays. However, if there is absolutely no way you can avoid foods prepared by someone else, here are a few tips for clean eating during the holidays.
1. Start with a Healthy Breakfast- Breakfast really is
the most important meal of the day. If you start your day with a clean
breakfast, you’ll likely eat less throughout the rest of the day
compared to if you skip. Try a bowl of oatmeal topped with fresh
blueberries and slivered almonds or make a fruit smoothie with a
tablespoon of wheat germ.
My favorite breakfast is 1/2 cup oatmeal, 3/4 cup almond milk, 1/2
apple grated, pinch of cinnamon, 1/2 scoop protein powder, 1 tbsp wheat
germ and flaxseed!
2. Stay on Track with Frequent Meals-Just because it’s a
time for celebration doesn’t mean it’s time to throw all you’ve learned
out the window. If you’re eating clean now, that means you’re eating
every three to four hours anyway. Eating frequent meals will help you to
keep from overeating when you sit down to enjoy holiday meals.
3. Fill Your Plate with Veggies- Sure, veggies are
considered side dishes, but there’s no rule that says you can’t fill the
majority of your plate with vegetables. Vegetables are packed with
fiber, which helps keep you feeling full, so you can fill up on fewer
calories and have less room for diet-blowing desserts. Fill
three-quarters of your plate with veggies and the other quarter with a
lean protein.
4. Eat Slowly-Your body tells you when it’s time to
stop eating. Eat slowly and give yourself time to hear those cues. Don’t
wait until your full to stop eating. Put your fork down when you no
longer feel hungry.
5. Indulge…
But just a little. There’s no hard and fast rule with clean eating that
says you can’t have “just one bite.” If you really, really won’t feel
satisfied until you have a bite of that pumpkin cheesecake, then have a
bite.
6. Cut Yourself Some Slack- So what happens if you
can’t resist and eat with reckless abandon during the holidays? Don’t be
too hard on yourself. Not partaking in all the delicious holiday foods
is often difficult and takes pre-planning and a lot of motivation to
avoid. If you get off track, get right back on after the holidays are
over.
7. Pre-Eating- If I know that I am going to a party
that there will not be any healthy choices here is what I do. I eat
before I go! I drink my
Shakeology or have a well balanced meal. Then,
when I get to the event I grab a big glass of water and I socialize! I
make parties about talking to other people and not about the food.
When you do that, you tend to forget about the food and people don't
even notice! I went to a birthday party on Sunday and there was nothing
that was even remotely healthy. So I drank my shake before going, when
I got there I got my kids food and sat at the table and fed them. No
one even asked a question because I was busy with the kids. When they
were done I cleaned them up and went and talked to someone else. When
it was time for cake I helped serve the cake and clean up afterwards so
there was no time to sit down and eat cake! I just kept busy talking to
other people! Yes, I could have enjoyed myself and ate the fried
chicken and macaroni and cheese but I had already gone out the night
before and had a few glasses of wine and dessert so I wasn't going to
allow myself to do it 2 days in a row! You have to prioritize!
8. Going away for the holidays-
So a lot of you probably travel to visit family during the holidays and
don't have any control over what is being fed to you! Here are some
easy tips to keep on track. When I travel I always pack a cooler! I
pre-portion out my oatmeal and throw in some dried cranberries or
raisins and take it with me. Oatmeal is easy to throw in a bowl with
water and microwave! I also pack easy snacks to take along with me. I
packed a bag of baby carrots and pre portioned out some nuts and
hummus. I threw a couple cheese sticks into my cooler and some fruit.
Voila, you have healthy snacks to keep you from stopping at the rest
stops and drive thrus. Then, when you are faced with a meal that your
family cooks that is not easy on the waistline, you just mind your
portion sizes and load up on veggies. But at least you won't be
starving and eat everything in sight because you came with a well
thought out plan and have been on track the rest of the day!
Good luck and please share what you are planning to do to stay focused this holiday season!
How do you plan to stick to clean eating this holiday season, especially
if you’re not doing the prep work? We’d love to hear your tips and
tricks, so leave a comment below!
Portions of this post were taken from Cleaneatingclub.com Labels: beachbody, clean eating, healthy eating, holiday eating, holiday splurge, shakeology, staying fit during the holidays
8. Going away for the holidays-
So a lot of you probably travel to visit family during the holidays and
don't have any control over what is being fed to you! Here are some
easy tips to keep on track. When I travel I always pack a cooler! I
pre-portion out my oatmeal and throw in some dried cranberries or
raisins and take it with me. Oatmeal is easy to throw in a bowl with
water and microwave! I also pack easy snacks to take along with me. I
packed a bag of baby carrots and pre portioned out some nuts and
hummus. I threw a couple cheese sticks into my cooler and some fruit.
Voila, you have healthy snacks to keep you from stopping at the rest
stops and drive thrus. Then, when you are faced with a meal that your
family cooks that is not easy on the waistline, you just mind your
portion sizes and load up on veggies. But at least you won't be
starving and eat everything in sight because you came with a well
thought out plan and have been on track the rest of the day!