Holiday Eating: Party Hearty Without Putting On The Pounds!
|
The holidays are definitely a special time of year. These days, however, many women wonder whether "special" means happy -- or stressful. Do you know anyone who doesn't feel more stress during the holiday season? One thing is for sure: Stress is a six-letter word that can spell added trouble for many women who struggle with food, eating and weight.
A national survey of women conducted earlier this year revealed that women see stress and lack of energy as two of their top health issues. But here's where it gets interesting: Women were twice as likely as men to snack as a way of dealing with stress!
So how do you enjoy the famous holiday party time that seems to start with coffee breaks at work or weekend brunches and last through dessert parties late in the evening without overdoing on all those wonderful foods? Here's a list of ideas to consider that can help reduce holiday stress, boost energy and maximize your ability to make smart choices to support you in your efforts to feel well and stay healthy.
Keep It Simple
The absolute first "must" for enjoying your holidays is to keep it simple. Be realistic in what you want to accomplish?and what you expect others to accomplish, too. Discuss holiday plans with family and friends. Consider paring down your "to do" list, and get a commitment from others to share in the extra holiday tasks that create extra fun for everyone.
Feed Yourself Well
A party later in the evening doesn't mean skimping on food during the day. All that will do is set you up for overeating because you get too hungry. Instead, eat regular, balanced meals and snacks that include grains/starchy vegetables, protein foods and fruits and/or vegetables every 3-5 hours when you are hungry, and stopping when you are satisfied.
Likewise, if you overdo it at one meal or party (and who doesn't on occasion?), don't try to "make up" for it at your next meals. Go back to your regular eating plan as described above.
Dance the Night Away!
Physical activity may provide the biggest boost to your ability to cope during the holidays. Not only is it a natural outlet for tension (and consequently another way to cope), physical activity boosts our energy level and our motivation to keep going.
Be creative! Break out of your mold by adding the opportunities of the holiday season, such as dancing, skating, sledding, skiing, snowshoeing, caroling (all that walking)?even trimming the tree (there's a lot of stretching there). Make fun physical activity the primary focus of your parties, instead of depending on the food to make or break it.
Realistically, many people find that physical activity early in the day is the best way to make it happen. A walk after breakfast is one of the best strategies for boosting energy and helping you feel well the rest of the day. Don't forget those walks around the shopping mall or the long brisk walk in from the parking lot count for something, too! (See FitBriefing Moving for Life - http://www.fitwoman.com/fitbriefings/moving.shtml).
Put on Parties that Work for You
This is where stress can send you straight for the Christmas cookies or Hanukkah chocolate. First, plan parties where you get help. How about just being responsible for the "centerpiece" dish, such as a main dish, beautiful salad or dessert, and let the supermarket, bakery, and/or deli do the rest. Or if you don't already have a pot luck tradition for family gatherings, now is the time to start!
What will be on the menu? A simple, healthy meal with some added festive touches will not only impress your guests, but it will truly be enjoyed by all - especially you! Many holiday menus start with roast turkey. Roasting a turkey or turkey breast is relatively simple, but most grocery and/or meat markets will roast it for you. Serve it with Brown Rice Pilaf or Wild Rice Pilaf (both recipes from the new edition of Green Mountain's cookbook Recipes for Living - http://www.fitwoman.com/recipes.htm). Add dried cherries or cranberries, chopped toasted pecans and chopped fresh parsley for a festive touch. A colorful tossed green salad could be as simple as a bag of mixed field greens with orange segments and red onion rings. Garnish with a slice of herbed chevre (goat cheese). Serve with Honey-Balsamic Vinaigrette (another Green Mountain favorite). Take advantage of the sweets and other treats of the season that your local bakery will surely be making; order a tray of assorted cookies, for example. Serve with a scoop of raspberry, lemon or tropical fruit sorbet in holiday dishes. Or if you want a real "wow" but simple dessert, try Marinated Strawberries in Phyllo cups.
Make Yourself a Priority
This is the bottom line for holidays that you really enjoy. Remember, if you take care of yourself first, then you're much better equipped to take care of everyone else. But women just don't tend to do that. A survey last month of 1000 women revealed that while almost all women would enjoy doing something for themselves like taking a walk or an aromatic bath, most spend less than 30 minutes a day nurturing themselves?and almost 10 hours a day caring for others! Clearly, we're out of balance here. Now there's a great gift - the gift of more time for you!
No More New Year's Resolutions to Lose Weight!
The staff at Green Mountain at Fox Run wishes you the happiest, healthiest holiday season ever. Our other wish for you is that you approach the New Year not with another resolution to take off pounds gained during the holiday season. Instead, we wish that you enjoy the season without thinking about body size, instead caring for yourself in a way that allows you to go through the season feeling vibrant and well. The truth is that most of us may put on a pound or two during the holidays when wonderful foods abound. But if we're tuned in to feeling well, and supporting our bodies with sensible enjoyable eating, regular physical activity, stress management and positive thinking, those extra pounds won't be permanent. With this lifestyle in place, we'll find our weight returns to its natural, healthy place once the abundance of the holidays subsides.
©2004 Green Mountain at Fox Run, Ludlow, Vermont.
Marsha J. Hudnall, MS, RD, CD is director of health communications and senior nutritionist at Green Mountain at Fox Run, an all-womens weight loss program. For over 32 years, Green Mountain at Fox Run has developed and refined a life-changing Weight Loss Spa through lifestyle change, exclusively for women. To learn more about Green Mountain at Fox Run, visit us at: http://www.fitwoman.com
|
|
|
What Are The Benefits Of The Low-carb Diet?
Are you one of those who hate dieting? Well, you are not alone, almost all of us hate the deprivation from food that dieting brings to us. Aside from the fact that our parents raise us to believe that food intake is necessary to keep us energetic, especially carbohydrates. Potatoes and breads are the essential members of our diet from morning, noon and night. Therefore, we resent the idea that carbohydrates are not good for us.However, your thinking might change upon reading the low-carb diet overview. In the low-carb diet overview, you will learn that energy does n...(related: Weight Loss)
Are You A Binge Eater?
Ever wonder if you have a serious problem with binge eating?In a recent issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, I read a feature article about the treatment of bulimia and binge eating.Bulimia is defined as 2 or more episodes of binge eating (consuming a large amount of food in 2 hours or less) at least twice a week for 3 months. These episodes may be followed by vomiting or purging (with laxatives or diuretics) and may alternate with fasting and compulsive exercising. People who suffer from bulimia often view this behavior as a shameful secret.Binge Eating Disorder (binging that is not followed by vomiting, fasting or exercise) has gotten more attention recently since it is being considered for in...(related: Weight Loss)
Real Weight Loss Begins Today...with Cliff Kuhn, M.d.s Fun Factor Diet!
Weight Loss is something that many Americans struggle with. In this article, Cliff Kuhn, M.D. will teach you why your weight loss techniques so far have been unsuccessful, and how to correctly lose weight - and keep it off!P.T. Barnum, who dedicated his life to entertaining the masses, often relied on size-related ad...(related: Weight Loss)
Quick Weight Loss Or Quackery
Cellulite - Reduce The Appearance--------------------------------- Sallie Elizabeth has always had large breasts and a big bottom, and she has accepted them as part of her genetic makeup. But when cellulite appeared in the back of her upper leg, she "freaked out" and resolved to do something about it.A friend recommended endermologie, a deep massage trea...(related: Weight Loss)
Low Carb Diets: Craze Or Crazy?
Low carb diets, though popular, have met with much controversy. This type of diet simply doesn't fit with what the American Heart Association recommends. But the success that so many people have had with low carb diets can really make you wonder if the food pyramid that we all learned in grade school, has been wrong all along.Some carbohydrates give us energy while others actually make us more sluggish once we lose the sugar buzz. Those carbs also tend to make us crave more of the same thing and it becomes an unstoppable cycle. So where the food pyramid tells us that we need to eat carbs, it doesn't tell us which one...(related: Weight Loss)
Alternatives When Considering Liposuction
One alternative method to traditional and tumescent liposuction is mesotherapy. Mesotherapy involves a series of injections of varying ingredients. According to advocates of this method, the injected fluid breaks down fatty pockets effectively and is the most minimally invasive of the liposuction techniques. Generally, it is not a more cost-effective method of getting rid of fat; on average each session costs around $500, and require...(related: Weight Loss)
The Truth About Counting Calories And Weight Loss
Do calories matter or do you simply need to eat certain foods and that will guarantee you'll lose weight? Should you count calories or can you just count "portions?" Is it necessary to keep a food diary? Is it unrealistic to count calories for the rest of your life or is that just part of the price you pay for a better body?You're about to learn the answers to these questions and discover a simple solution for keeping track of your food intake without having to crunch numbers every day or become a fanatic about your food.In many popular diet books, "Calories don't count" is a frequently repeated theme. Other popular programs, such as Bill Phillip's "Body For Life," allude to the importance of energy intake versus energy output, but recommend that you cou...(related: Weight Loss)
7 Excuses For Not Starting Up Your Weight Loss Diet
Changing habits is one of the most difficult challanges we human beings are facing. This also applies to changing food habits, and especially starting a weight loss diet, when you are used to eating what you want when you want it. When we feel defeated by...(related: Weight Loss)
Want To Lose Fat? Eat More Of This
If you've been working out with weights for any length of time, you know the importance of supplying your body with frequent feedings of quality protein so that your body will be able to have the necessary building blocks to build muscle in the shortest amount of time possible.How much protein should you be consuming each day? Well, that debate has been raging for many years. Eventually, the mainstream will accept what those in the bodybuilding community have known for a long, long time.In order to increase muscle mass, you sh...(related: Weight Loss)
South Beach Diet - South Beach Diet Plan Information
Perhaps you've had them too, nightmares about rice cakes, granola, and eight glasses of water a day. Do visions of diet supplements, green tea and mechanical scales dance through your head? If so, you are not alone. The hardest part of committing to a diet program is the fear of giving up your favorite foods in favor of dry, tasteless "diet foods." With the South Beach diet, however, there is a plethora of ...(related: Weight Loss)
The Thermogenic Fat Burner
The term 'thermogenic' refers to a group of drugs or herbs, which have the ability to stimulate the central nervous system and thyroid gland. The idea behind thermogenics is to decrease the appetite with a thermogenic fat burner while incre...(related: Weight Loss)
Diet Pills ? Do They Work? Are They Safe? Which One Should I Use?
Diet Pills are the fastest growing segment of the dietary supplement industry. Sales of diet pills and related supplements have been increasing 10 to 20 percent annually to the point where last year they reached $2 billion. Considering the fact that 60% of the U.S. population are overweight or obese, it's no wonder that several of us are looking for a way to drop extra pounds. Diet pill ads are starting to pop up everywhere, particular...(related: Weight Loss)
Dieting - Healthy Dieting Tips
If you are among the millions of people searching for a weight loss program that will produce quick results, here are a few tips and suggestions you may want to consider. There are many weight loss programs that promise rapid weight loss. In order to lose weight and keep it off, you need a diet plan that you can follow permanently.If you want to lose weight and successfully keep it off, you must choose ...(related: Weight Loss)
site-map - Copyright © 2007 | Contact Webmaster - shukra1111 [AT] yahoo.com | All Rights Reserved | Weight Loss