Strategy #1: Feast On Protein
So you're scoping out the buffet set-up at a holiday party and you're
contemplating what to eat. I'm betting there's a turkey there.
Eat it, and only that, until you're full.
Protein is, by nature, very filling. And by filling up on lean protein, you'll avoid
other, potentially more destructive food items at the buffet.
And best yet, you still leave satisfied.
Another benefit of protein is that it also helps your body process carbohydrates
more effectively by stimulating the release of the hormone glucagon--a hormone
which helps to control blood sugar and curb the fat-storage properties of insulin.
So if you do indeed add some carbs, they'll become much less of a threat to your
waistline.
Strategy #2: Do NOT Drink Calories
Calories in beverages are wasted calories. They do nothing to increase satiety or fullness, and can very easily tack on a serious amount of caloric damage to any evening. If it has calories, don't drink it, plain and simple. If you'd like some variety beyond plain water, go with a flavored water or other diet beverage. Just please, do NOT fall victim to 500 calories of fat-storing high fructose corn syrup. Simple avoidance, great benefit.
Strategy #3: Know Your First Move
While we're on the topic of beverages, here's a great tip to go into any holiday party with. As soon as you arrive, before you do anything else, pour yourself a big glass of water, drink it down, and wait 15 minutes before eating anything. Mingle with the crowd, say hello, etc. This is a simple, extremely effective way to curb your appetite and give yourself a sense of fullness before heading to the dinner line and is sure to make a difference in the amount of food you end up adding to your plate.
Strategy #4: Be Hospitable
Many times the parties we attend throughout the holidays are “potluck” buffet
style where each person is responsible for brining their own dish to contribute to
the menu.
If you've ever worked in an office, you know what I'm talking about.
This is a great opportunity for you to contribute something healthy to the table,
and in turn make it extremely easy for you to make a healthy choice. Simply eat
your own meal.
This way you KNOW exactly what's in it and how it was prepared, a huge plus
(i.e. everything that looks healthy isn't necessarily so). And even if the party isn't potluck, bring something to contribute anyway. I haven't met a host yet that doesn't appreciate help from others when it comes to feeding the guests.
Strategy #5: Arrive “Full”
I'm sure you've heard the recommendation that you never go to the grocery store hungry as you'll just end up buying everything in sight, spending way too much money, and making a bunch of unhealthy choices because everything looks “so good”. Well, I'm going to give the same suggestion for holiday parties (again, this is for the one or two that don't fall into your holiday “cheat” schedule). Instead of showing up with your stomach growling and mouth salivating, take action to ensure you arrive in the exact opposite position. How? Easy. Eat a BIG, healthy meal just prior to heading to the party. In fact, I can remember one time when I actually stopped at Salad Works on the way to a party and sat down to a huge bowl of leafy greens, grilled chicken, and veggies. When I arrived at the party full, all of a sudden all those desserts didn't look nearly as appetizing. Easy, super effective way to avoid falling into temptation.
Strategy #6: Be “Normal”
This one goes right along with the previous tip. In an effort to avoid the “damage” of a big meal or party, most people don't eat anything else all day leading up to the big event in order to “save up” the calories. Big mistake, and for several reasons. First, when you go into a meal or party incredibly hungry, you will absolutely overeat to a much higher degree than you would otherwise. Bigger portions of calorie dense, fatty/carb-laden food = WAY more calories than you would have naturally eaten throughout the day. Secondly, eating nothing only to follow it up with a big, high-fat/high-carb/highcalorie meal leads to a greater percentage of those calories than normal to be stored as fat. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by starving yourself all day. Eat as you normally would and then hit up the party.
Strategy #7: Deplete Before A “Big” Day
While the previous tip doesn't work for “damage control”, this one certainly does. One of the things I teach my clients to do is “prep” for a big day full of food with a depletion workout the day before. You may or may not know, but there's plenty of “food” stored within your muscles in the form of both carbohydrate and fats. 8 Carbohydrate (when stored in muscle, called “glycogen”) and fats (when stored in muscle, called “intracellular triglycerides”) are actually stored within muscle tissue as an energy source to fuel activity. Fat is a slower energy source, so something as simple as doing a lot of walking the day before a party is a great way to deplete some of your intracellular triglyceride stores. As for glycogen depletion, go with something akin to circuit-style weight training. Keep the load light, do a lot of repetitions, and really “go for the burn”. Going into a big meal with depleted intramuscular energy stores (brought about via energy-depleting exercise) will lead to much of that meal refilling those stores as opposed to being tacked onto your waist, hips, and the ol' gluteus maximus.
Strategy #8: Go Non-Alcoholic
Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be a buzz kill, so I'm not going to tell you to completely give up alcohol throughout the holidays. But, what I will suggest is that the majority of your beverages at holiday get-togethers be of the non-alcoholic variety. Simply put, alcoholic beverages are perhaps the easiest way to add unnecessary calories to your daily total, and unfortunately, it doesn't end with just the calorie total. Excessive alcohol intake also creates a hormonal environment in the body very conducive to fat storage, making those calories much more likely to negatively impact the number that shows next time you step on the scale. So, what's “excessive” or “how much is too much”. Well, I think we all know that. If you're regularly getting “tipsy” or drinking to the point of intoxication, then you're physique is going to take a hit for it. Enjoy a (non-sugary) drink or two when appropriate, but stick with non-calorie beverages otherwise.
Strategy #9: Modify Your Plate
Sometimes you just want to enjoy what's there without having to be picky,
choosey, or limit your selections.
If that's the case, here's a tip that will absolutely keep you from overdoing it while
keeping your calorie intake in check:
Use dessert sized plates.
Yep, just go ahead and grab a plate from the dessert line and then head over to
the “dinner” line.
Controlling portion size just happens to be one of the best ways you can regulate
calorie intake without necessarily giving up your favorite foods.
Smaller plate = smaller portions, and with smaller portions come fewer calories
across the board.
As an added benefit, research has shown that people tend to overeat and eat
beyond the point of “fullness” when large portions are in front of them. With the
smaller plate option, you'll likely be very content when you finish without
“mindlessly” continuing to stuff yourself just because the food is there in front of
you.
Strategy #10: If You Don't Love It, Don't Eat It
Learning to be selective will prove to be a highly-helpful skill when approaching holiday meals, parties, and buffet lines. Simply put, you don't need to eat everything that's there. If we're being completely honest, we probably don't even really like everything that we toss on our plate and instead just include it because it's available.
So, here's another valuable suggestion: If you don't absolutely love it, don't eat it.
As you go through the line or as foods are passed along the table, only dish out
your absolute favorites while skipping over the selections that you can probably
do without.
Stock Up on the “Good Stuff”
In addition to choosing your favorites, whatever veggies are available, piling them
on your plate. They're filling, will compliment the other items on your plate, and
will easily help you adhere to the next rule.
Strategy #11: One and Done
Here's a realistic insight:
Most of the weight we put on during the holiday season comes from the second
(and sometimes third) helping, not the first.
And while it's easy to go back in for more, a great way to cut out half the calories
you'd normally eat at a holiday function is to limit yourself to only one helping.
So, go ahead and fill up your plate (remember, we're using smaller plates), but
once you're done, you're done.
Adhere to this one rule alone and you'll automatically cut in half your calorie
intake this holiday season.
Strategy #12: Make the “Announcement”
Here's perhaps the easiest way to avoid going back for seconds. A good friend of mine gave me this tip as while back, and as simple as it is, it works unbelievably well. In fact, I actually did this at the dinner table the other night when out with friends, and it was easily the most comfortable social situation I've ever been in while sticking to my diet and moving forward to my goals. When you arrive at a party or sit down to the table, let people know what you've committed to. Something as simple as “Hey, just want to let everyone know, I'm on a mission to drop some pounds. This food looks amazing, and I plan to enjoy a full plate, but if you see me back in the buffet line, kick my butt into gear.” People respect that and they'll back you up. From then on out, you never have to worry about people who “don't know” your goals constantly offering you food, and beyond that, it's a huge source of accountability for you. I can guarantee that when you put this simple strategy into practice, you won't even think of going in for seconds. It's extremely easy to resist once you give people “expectations” for you to live up to.
Strategy #13: Chew, Chew, Chew
Now, I'm sure you've heard this one before, but let me ask you this.
Do you ever really make a conscious effort to take your time between mouthfuls?
Probably not.
A good rule of thumb is to chew your food at least 20 times before swallowing
while giving yourself a bit of a breather between bites.
Trust me, the food will still be there.
Eating slowly and with a high chew-count gives your body time to realize it's
getting full--in the end you'll be just as content while consuming far fewer
calories.
Consciously give it a try, and I guarantee it will make a difference.
Strategy #14: Compensate
Fact is, you're going to consume more calories from November through January than you normally would at other times of year, even if its just moderately more-- that's reality. A natural combatant would then be to increase your physical activity to burn more calories. Walk more, run more, throw in an extra gym session or stay a bit longer than usual--whatever you can do to be more active and burn more calories during this time will go a long way.
Strategy #15: Write It Down
In addition to the “announcement” tip above, another great way to establish accountability is to keep a food journal and daily exercise log. While you may or may not be used to doing this, during times where it's easy to go off track, keeping a journal of some sort is exceptionally helpful to keep you in check. There's just something about having something in writing and tracking your progress simply throughout the day that makes you that much more apt to “stick to it”.
Strategy #16: Serve Yourself “Half” First
Here's an idea that can make the small plate method even more effective:
Serve yourself only “half” first, filling up the plate half-way and then taking time to
sit, eat slowly, chew, and enjoy what's there.
Then, you have the added bonus of being able to go back for the other half!
It's funny how simple psychology works, but even though it's the same amount,
you just feel like you're eating more when you're able to “go back” for more.
Bonus Strategy #17: The Reason For The Season
Remember to have fun this holiday season and enjoy yourself. Life is short and we are given no promises of time so try to truly enjoy the time you have with friends and family. Remember that the these holidays aren't about food but are much more than that. Try to focus on the reason for the season and not the menu of the season. Enjoy your families and friends. Tell them you love them. Be thankful. God is good:)
But Please Remember…
These 16 tips are for the minority, not the majority, of meals and parties that you will be sitting down to and attending this holiday season.
We will be sharing one of the best tactics for weight loss in January but I thought it would be nice to keep from adding too many extra pounds during the holidays.
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Have a great Thanksgiving!!!!
Dr. Hamilton
