Holiday Stay Fit Guide Part 3

by Jen (December 3, 2006)

Part 1 of this series gave you some ideas on using exercise to keep holiday weight gain at bay; Part 2 covered portion control as a way of tasting all the goodies without over-indulging; and now for Part 3.

Controlled Indulgence

If sweets are your downfall during the holidays, pick one very favorite type of sweet such as cakes, chocolate candy, hard candy, pies, etc.  “Chocolate” would be too broad a category since it involves cakes, candy and pies.  Once you’ve picked your very favorite type of sweet, go ahead and enjoy it when you encounter it!  But resist the others.  Remember, this may not work if you have a family or friends who get offended if you don’t taste every sweet they create.  If that’s your situation, you might do better looking to the portion control suggestions in Part 2.
Make Your Regular Meals Diet Meals

Not every meal during the holidays is a party feast. Be very conscientious about your normal breakfasts, lunches and dinners - moreso than normal.  That way, your overindulgences at holiday parties and gatherings will be at least somewhat balanced out.  Choose low fat foods, high-fiber foods, complex carbohydrates, etc.  Avoid processed foods and fast foods as much as possible - this will free up a lot of caloric intake for holiday indulgences.

One final note…

There are a lot of anti-carb trends out there nowadays.  But there are actually two kinds of carbs: complex and simple.  Simple carbs - like sugar and white breads - are too easy for your system to digest.  They go straight to fat storage.  Complex carbs, however, fuel your energy and keep you going.  Also, they help keep you producing the neurotransmitters that keep you from becoming depressed.  The holidays are stressful and sometimes depressing enough on their own: don’t make it harder on yourself by overindulging on sugars OR deleting complex carbs from your diet, thinking that’s the way to keep weight off.

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