The holidays are a wonderful time of year filled with family, friends and food. However, there is a downside to the holidays - calorie overload. People gain the most weight in the month between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. The culprit? Most, if not all, of the food is high in fat and calories - and people eat it. The holiday binge eating feels out of control and by New Year's Day everyone feels they need to go on a diet.
Much of this weight gain can be avoided with a few simple techniques. Since many people are against eating a low fat or low calorie meal on the actual holiday, it is better to focus on the various parties with friends and co-workers. Eating a high fat, high calorie meal one or two times a year is not going to make you gain considerable amounts of weight. What does matter is how you are eating over a long period of time. If you are able to keep the food you eat in a healthy range over the entire holiday season than eating the big holiday meal with not cause considerable weight gain or emotional stress.
A great way to start this process is to make low calorie/low fat versions of your favorite dishes for all those holiday parties. This is not as difficult as it may sound. Only a few easy strategies can help you save some calories -and pounds. Using these simple techniques can keep you from gaining a large amount of weight over the holidays.
1. Revamp your favorite recipes to be lower in fat. You can do this by using reduced fat ingredients such a lower fat cheese or sour cream. This will not significantly change the taste but will save a considerable amount of fat and calories from the recipe. You can also use less of a high fat ingredient if you feel their may be too much of it in your dish.
2. Find recipes that use vegetables and fruits as the base ingredient. If you are going to a party and need to bring a dish, choose one that has a lot of vegetables or fruit in it. The other ingredients should be flavor enhancers but should not cover up the taste of the main fruit or vegetable. This will ensure that you will at least eat your vegetables and helping other people get their vegetables too.
3. When you make a dessert, choose low fat versions of your favorite recipes. Overeating during a holiday party can wreck havoc on your weight, but eating a big dessert on top of it can send you over the edge. Eating a small amount of a lower calorie dessert will help keep you on the right path.
4. Consider skipping dessert. It may seem like a sin to not have dessert during the holidays but it can save you a considerable amount of fat and calories, even more than eating a lower fat dessert. It is not a written rule that you need to eat everything that is given to you at a party. If you feel too full, don't eat it.
5. Make sure to exercise daily. Physical activity is very important during the holiday season. You need to stay fit while eating lower fat versions of your favorite holiday meals. You will still be eating more food than you normally would. However, exercise will help speed up your metabolism so you can burn off the extra calories.
