How Will You Get Through The Holidays This Year?

The following is a guest post from Certified Holistic Health Counselor and Personal Trainer, Jan Rodenfels.
The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming! How many times have you flown through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve without a thought of how much weight you gain each year? Do you mindlessly enjoy the holidays and then come January you hit the gym thinking you will work it all off but you never do? One year it’s three pounds, the next five pounds, until you are overweight, desperate to lose it, but just don’t know how you will. I teach my clients to have strategies in place for each day of the year. It’s a lot easier to manage every day with good habits than to try and fix it after the fact.
There is no doubt that the holidays can be stressful and many people tend to use food to cope. We get tired and stressed with all the planning and preparation and then our defenses are weak. That’s why I like to have a plan in place before the holidays are upon me. I take a little time to work on my strategies because I really like to eat! I mean I REALLY like to eat! But I don’t like the feeling of having eaten too much, the bloating, guilt and shame that I feel when I mindlessly eat. And I certainly don’t want to put on those extra lbs!
Here’s a few tips to help steer your stomach in the lean direction:
1. Have a healthy snack before you go to a party or host one yourself. Don’t arrive hungry and run to the buffet table. Focus on the party and conversations. I like a brown rice protein shake before I go with a little bit of raw cacao. It’s a healthy chocolate fix. Keeps me away from fudge! Just toss in the blender with a little ice, 4 drops of stevia to sweeten and you’re done.
2. Fill your plate with veggies first. Raw is even better!
3. Drink a glass of water between every calorie-filled drink, or carry around the same drink all night. The more alcohol you drink, the more you eat!
4. Get slow. I like to savor each bite. Try chewing 30 times before you swallow. Give your brain a little time to catch up that you are actually full and help your digestion in the process.
5. Have your favorite treat! If you try to deny yourself you may only end up bingeing on that very thing. Sometimes just one bite of that chocolate cake was all I really needed. The first bite always tastes the best anyway.