Holiday Party...or Parties!
During the holiday season, it may seem impossible to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Holiday shopping takes the place of workouts, and holiday parties can foil your healthy eating in no time. But alas...it is feasible to maintain your weight (let's not aspire for weight loss until the New Year). You deserve to enjoy this time of year with your family and friends and not feel like you need to sit in the corner eating celery for hours on end. Believe me, it is possible to take part in the holiday festivities and eat well--it just takes some guidance :).
1. Eat before you go. The biggest mistake you can make is going to a party hungry (well it would be worse to go there starving!). Let's say the party is at 7pm. You can assume it's probably a cocktail party (unless otherwise noted) with hors d'oeuvres and drinks...so have dinner before...a light dinner...but enough to cut the edge off of your hunger. Now, when you arrive at the party, you won't be lunging for a spanakopita before the host takes your coat.
2. Always have a drink in your hand. It makes it much harder to eat excessively if one of your hands is tied up with a drink. That being said, I don't mean you should always have a cocktail (read ahead to number 3) but having a glass in your hand will help.
3. Alternate drinks. It's a party...have a couple of drinks. Just remember…choose the right drink and when you finish a glass of wine, have soda water before your next cocktail. This will help you two fold--you won't make a fool of yourself by falling over drunk and you'll save A LOT of calories.
4. Offer to bring an appetizer or dessert. Bring something healthy but delicious. This way, you can be assured there will be at least one food item you can eat and know what is in it. Check out this list of healthy fast appetizers from Cooking Light.
5. Exercise. Whenever I have a party or event to attend, I always make time to exercise that day. That way, when I inevitably eat too many cookies, I don't feel as badly. If you have time...add an extra 10 minutes on to your typical workout for an added boost. Most importantly, remember to enjoy yourself. You should allow yourself to indulge every once in a while. In fact, I encourage a good "cheat"--especially this time of year. Don't beat yourself up if you wake up the next morning and think you over did it. You can't blow your diet with one bad meal. Just start up again the next time you eat and you will be just fine.
1 comments:
Great advice - I will try to remember it at the next party. :)
Post a Comment