Maintaining Your Weight During the Holidays

 

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The holidays are upon us and with them comes food, lots and lots of food. There are all sorts of parties, office parties, family parties, friends’ parties, Christmas parties, and New Years parties. With these parties comes food, so what can you do to still participate, but maintain your weight. There are a number of things one can do to maintain their weight while still partying.

Think About it

Thoughts to process while at a party are that there are more parties and food to come. What time of the day is it? If the party is a night you should refrain from eating at all for two reasons. The first being that food is energy for our bodies and odds are you are sitting, talking, and drinking. You are not burning any calories this way. Secondly it is bad for the digestive system. You will go home go to bed with undigested food in your stomach which cannot digest probably.

Moderation is Key
Moderation, eat in moderation, do not fill up a plate with gobs of food. Make healthy choices, view the options before grabbing a plate and decide which foods have the least amount of calories. If there is something you want that contains high calories make that the smallest part of your plate.  Sweets, we love them, but here too moderation is key. If there is an appealing pie or cake that makes your mouth water, cut a sliver. Sweets that do not have to be cut are easier to just take two or three at the most.

 

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What are You Packing 

Traveling for the holidays is something a great number of people do. The one thing many fail to pack is work out gear. No matter what type of work out you do there is a way to continue during your holiday travels. This can get a little tricky, like taking your tread mill, or your weight bench and weights. Instead think of ways you can modify your work out. It might not be the work out you are used to, but just remember, something is better than nothing. If you have a health club membership to a chain like Snap Fitness, check and see if there is a location close to where you will be staying. If you are staying in a hotel try to find one that includes a gym.

Combined Eating  
Combined eating is an important factor for maintaining your weight during the holidays. Foods digest at different rates, if eaten in the wrong order foods are left undigested. Fruits digest the fastest, eat these first and alone. Vegetables are next, eggs, and fish also digest quickly only a half hour. Cheese takes up to five hours, and meats vary depending on what it is. Be aware with meats they take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours to digest. Fats also digest at a slower rate, lastly do not eat protein and carbohydrates together as they cancel out each other’s enzymes. This explains why we feel lazy and horrible after Thanksgiving dinner, stuffing, turkey, and potatoes should not be eaten together.

Using these simple suggestions will aid you in having a happy, healthy, holiday meals.

What tricks do you use for maintaining your weight during the holidays?