Beat Holiday Weight Gain with these sneaky tips!
Holidays! The word conjures up parties, potlucks, reunions and also large quantities of extravagant delicious food. Who doesn’t love this season ? I am a firm believer of ‘eat and be merry’ during the holidays, but I have a couple of cheat tips to ensure I don’t gain too many pounds. A few are understandable, but not too many. Here are some tried and tested tips that I follow.
Have your Cake and Eat it too !!!
Picture courtesy of Chocolate Moosey
Ah, before we get to the tips, I must confess… that huge beautiful cupcake up there is not mine. Although, I wish it was mine to eat 🙂 ! It is an award-winning cupcake and was created by my friend and fellow foodie blogger Carla from Chocolate Moosey ! She bakes the most awesome cupcakes and treats and you totally must check out this Chocolate Coconut Cupcake !! It is divine ! It went so well with my title 😉 !!
Now back to the subject !!
Beat Holiday Bloat: A lot of holiday weight gain is water retention which accumulates as a result of eating salty, high fat foods. You can beat holiday bloat by using some simple natural diuretics like ‘Cran water’ (1 oz pure cranberry juice: 7 oz. water) lemon spiked water, Fennel water (2 tabs fennel seeds boiled with 1 quart water) or celery juice. These have the powerful effect of pulling excess water from your body. Do this regularly all through the season and beyond !!
Compensate: Weight gain does not happen overnight. It takes at least a week for pounds to accumulate. So, if you indulge at weekend parties like I always do, compensate by eating healthy and low-calorie through the week. Balance the good with the bad ! My Mondays after a hectic party weekend are soup & salad.
Slow and Small bites: Take a note from the French who spend hours eating and are among the slimmest people in the world. Savor the food slowly! Scientifically, it takes the brain 15-20 minutes to register that you are full. The longer and slower you eat , fewer calories are consumed. Small bites or small portions are great for people like me who like to sample
everything. Take small servings and you can have your cake and eat it too!
Drink Up: Drinking 2 glasses of water before a meal fill you up and prevent overeating. This is especially useful for the week in-between the weekend parties when you want to eat less. One word of caution though: drinking water in between meals can lead to a heavy gassy feeling for some people.
Fiber Full: Eat high fiber foods to mop up all the excess fat from rich foods you eat and carry
them out of the body. It’s not a bad idea to eat natural fiber supplements during the holidays. I use a tbsp of Psyllium husk mixed with water regularly at night when I eat high fat foods. Remember to drink lots of water when taking any fiber supplement.drinking water in-between meals can leave you feeling bloated and gassy.
Work Out: Longer workouts to cover those extra calories is the smart way to go! Even stepping up your workout by an extra 30 minutes will make a difference and boost your metabolism as well. Read my post on some other easy ways to boost your metabolism.
Eat Smart: My favorite trick of all! A calorie is a calorie whatever it is. Choose your calories wisely by eating what you lust after the most. Me: I have a sweet tooth and love dessert, so I skip the rolls and the pasta and eat the rich key lime pie instead and if Carla’s cupcakes were there I would totally go for two of that and skip the bread ! If you’re not a huge fan of sodas, drink seltzer water or water down that party punch with seltzer or ice and you have your extra dessert calories right there. The key is to forego what you are not too crazy about and go after what you want. Works for me !
The key ultimately is not to deprive yourself! It is the holidays and you deserve to taste all that great food so Eat Smart, use these cheat tips and have a Delicious Decadent HOLIDAY!
Do you have any tips up your sleeve that you have for the holidays. Do share ! Would love to hear from you. And please check out the decadent cupcake 🙂 !
Hi there! I’m Sunithi, AKA Sue, a registered dietitian with a sweet tooth and a passion for eating healthy (quite a combo) currently working as an independent consultant in the DC Metro area. I’m also a blogger, health nut, nutrition geek who jogs to keep sane :)! I love to revamp recipes and add some ‘Nutrition Bytes’ to them. All my recipes are gluten free! I also blog on natural health and fitness! Visit often and drop me a note if you have any nutrition queries!
Great holiday tips! I think the key to healthy eating (as you me roomed) is not depriving yourself of your fav foods. You just have to have a good balance. And thanks for choosing my cupcakes 🙂
Yep ! balance is the right word ! I need sweet stuff esp yummy ones like your cupcakes, so don’t make me give those up ! But compensate in other ways. Oooh your cupcake is the best ! I wish I could eat it off the page 🙂 Maybe will try making it over the hols ! Thanks Carla !!
Nice tips ! Bloat is big for me every holiday. thinking of just carrying some cran water around all the time and drinking it instead of water. I can do without bread too, just give me my dessert ! Practical tips I can live with ! Thanks Sue !
Hmm, thought I replied to this. WP is acting up on me. You & Me are twin souls 🙂 Me too… can pass by bread unless it’s the gourmet kind, but give me that little piece of dessert instead. Glad you found the post useful ! Thanks Penn !
Good stuff ! Well I don’t have much of a problem in that area. Could be cause I work out a lot and extra during the holidays. Good practical tips. Sharing on my FB page !
Yeah ! You got the skinny genes. No need to rub it in. But the exercise helps am sure :0 ) ! Need to work out like you !!
I like this diet tip 🙂 it is true if we drinking foods we can full faster. By this, there’re no fat and many calories intake store up in our body 🙂
Hi Sunithi,
Wonderful tips. This is my usual concern during holidays. I really get tempted to eat all foods served in the table but at the same time overthinking on how to gain my weight back.
Thanks for posting! this is really nice!
low carb diets are they right for you
Right, go for your heart’s desire. No use denying yourself the treats that make you happy. Only, be sure you take it in small amounts. Like I say, getting a bit is better than none at all. At best you can say, sure this cake is delicious, instead of “no, I didn’t get to taste it, it’s packed full of calories that I avoid.”
Great tips. I think the one about compensating your holiday eating with health eating during the week This ha proved effective for me in the past. Thanks!
The point is not overeating and fairly meet your calorie needs per day. It looks simple but difficult, especially if the food looks so delicious.
Thanks !
You have no idea how I love your blog! I am so looking forward to read more of your posts. People should focus on much healthier things this coming season. Sure, it is being celebrated only once in a year but if we are planning to make it unhealthy annually, then that might cause a problem.
It’s always best to keep yourself healthy, and do away with the usual holiday binge. A little self-control is all it takes, and the willpower to avoid a depressing weight gain
these are amazing tips you have. Very applicable since it’s the Christmas season where lots and lots of foods can be eaten for free. NAtural ways could aslo be used for weight loss. Eating wouldn’t be a major problem dusring holiday seasons with tips like these.
Perfect post for the coming season. With your tips, I’d be able to eat and balnce it without having a problem in gaining weight. There are a lot of weight loss tips over the internet but your post would be my guide for now. I love this!
Hi SUNITHI SEL
Great post. you are write always well. I’m very appreciate your tips, Thanks for sharing this post.
Hi sue
I was curious reading your post because I know a lot of people who always put on weight when on holiday.i though for some reason I don’t know always seem to come back lighter I always eat more and drink more but still come back lighter. Which I will admit really annoys my girlfriend who always gains weight and hates it. I will pas these tips on.
So thanks lee
As I search the internet, I am constantly looking for high quality websites that have useful information, and yours is one of them. So glad I found this site and I hope you keep up the good work.
Great post indeed. I believe setting some time aside for workouts and exercise would work the best. because many people don’t seem to care about food during the fun holiday times.
Its really a nice post!!!
thanks for sharing these useful foods that helps to gain weight is quick ways.. i really appreciate your post…
Good sharing of foods that can be helpful for gaining weight in quick way.. Now researcher also says that the foods with high sugar may also helps in gaining weight.Sweet candies are one of the most popular foods high in sugar.