WELLNESS: How to Enjoy the Holidays without Bursting at the Seams by Rachel Clarkson R.D
Rachel Clarkson R.D is a top private dietitian based at Harley Street London, offering nutritional and dietary advice based on nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics.
This time of year with the holiday season upon us, it’s easy to be thrown off track with countless social events and delicious food everywhere you look. It’s no surprise that it’s hard to remain focused on your health goals and with so many dinners and parties, unless you are conscious of your food intake you may gain a few unwanted pounds.
These top tips will help you enjoy this special time of year AND stay on track - managing your weight:
Create a realistic plan for yourself
A plan helps you stay focused and takes the guesswork out of things when you busy, which we all are during this time of year. Instead of just taking every day as it comes, sit down every week and create a balanced and realistic plan for the week ahead. In this plan, make sure to schedule in every social event, dinner, or Christmas party. This way, you can plan out what your day of eating will look like every day and make the best choices for you. Make sure to even plan in mindful indulgences. Mapping out your week like this will put you at ease, ensuring you stay on plan on days with no social plans and treating yourself with compassion on days you are eating out.
Don’t skip meals before a night out
You may think skipping your lunch and snack before a dinner party is saving calories so you can go all out and enjoy yourself in the evening, but skipping meals will make you ravenous, unable to make good food choices, and often eat more than if you had eaten those previous meals.
Even if you are going out for a dinner or party in the evening, make sure to have every meal and snack throughout the day. This will ensure your blood sugar; energy levels and hunger levels stay stable. You will then arrive at your event moderately hungry like you would be on any normal day for dinner, and able to make a conscious decision of what to put on your plate. Also, because you are not so ravenous, you will be able to eat more slowly and mindfully, which will give you a chance to tune in to those hunger signals and honour them when they let you know that you’ve had enough.
Make sure you balance your plate even when eating out
Think about how you would usually plate your meals at home. Always including two portion veggies, some protein and carbs and a sprinkle of fat whether that’s a dressing or a dip. Try to mimic that as much as possible with the options available. Why? Because that will ensure you are satisfied and full, you have stayed as close as possible to your plan and ensure you will enjoy all the delicious food!
Stick to your 14 units of alcohol per week
We can’t talk about the holidays without talking about alcohol. You may find you are drinking more during this time of year, just because of the increased number of social gatherings. Trying to be mindful of not exceeding the limit of 14 units of alcohol per week can ensure you’re not drinking empty calories. Make sure in your realistic weekly plan you are scheduling in alcohol-free days and avoid consuming all 14 units in one night.
Try to choose low sugar mixers / chasers and add ice to your drinks to make them longer (and keep you hydrated!), alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks and make sure you are topping up your water glass all night.
Don’t overly restrict
Overly restricting can be anything from avoiding eating at social events, avoiding eating on the day after going “all-out”, completely restricting all your favourite treats for the whole month, and the list goes on.
These strategies may sound like a good idea, and maybe effective in the short term. But if you think about it, you cannot live your whole life like this. So, in the long term, this strategy sadly backfires. Because of heavily restricting, you go through periods of extreme overeating, compensating for all the food and treats you missed out on…
So, instead of restricting and not allowing yourself the foods you enjoy, I would suggest learning to incorporate them into a balanced and healthy diet. As I mentioned above, make sure you are planning in those treats and mindful indulgences, plate your favourite seasonal foods on a balanced plate with some veggies and protein and make sure you are enjoying them mindfully while tuning into your hunger cues to ensure you do not physically overeat.
Remember to be kind to yourself
When you think of the holidays in the grand scheme of things, it’s only a week out of the whole year. It will not make or break your goals, as long-term goals take longer to achieve than just a few days. Following the tips we’ve discussed here will really help you stay on track throughout the holiday season without it feeling like a chore!
These tips will help you spend more time enjoying this special time of year with the people you love, and less time worrying about making the right food choices!
Additional tips from Rachel - The 4 Secrets of Sustainable Weight Loss
Get in touch with Rachel if you want to have a more sustainable diet or find out your DNA diet. The DNA Dietitian Clinic would love to personalise health-optimising recommendations in person or via Skype, wherever you are in the world!