Easy Tips To Handle Family Holiday Get-Togethers, Galas or Parties!

7 Easy Tips To Handle The Holiday Events

• Eat clean and low carb throughout the day, so you can enjoy yourself at the party. You can also fast all day to enjoy yourself even more. 

• Do not attend a party or function while you are hungry; you will start attacking all your favorite foods. Make it an incentive to eat your greens first before you attack the sweets. The more you fill up with greens the less room you will have available for the bad stuff. 

o        Include at least 3 dark green vegetable side dishes

§     Has less calories per serving

§     Has vitamins, lowers cholesterol, and blood pressure

§     Tons of Fiber to keep your weight management in check

§     Recipes

§     Broccoli, Shitake and Red Onion Roast

§     Balsamic-Glazed Green Beans And Pearl Onions

§     Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Garlic, and Shallots

§        Use Turkey Bacon for less calories

o        Healthy sweet potato recipes

§     Sweet potato is loaded with vitamin C vitamin A, potassium, calcium, and iron

§     Used by bodybuilders to help build muscle

§     Recipes

§     Sweet Potato Casserole

§     Marshmallow Whipped Sweet Potatoes

• If you want to try everything that is displayed to eat for Thanksgiving then get small portions of each.
• Getting 1 - 2 oz of each dish will save you unwanted calories you do not want to take in and will save you from looking like a prude during Thanksgiving.

• Take your time while eating
• Your body does not know it is full until 20 minutes. 
• Take your time and converse with you family and friends. I'm sure there is a lot of catching up to do

o        Healthy pie recipes

§     Make sweet pies without all the unwanted extra calories

§     Recipes

§     Pumpkin Pie With Rum

§     Oatmeal-Nut Crunch Apple Pie

§     Pear Custard Pie

• Drink some water between every alcoholic beverage.

o        Drink red wine, low calorie beer, or water splash with a little fresh squeezed juice

§     Cut out sodas, especially diet sodas

§     Red wine and dark beers are loaded with anti-oxidants

§     Drink beer like Miller 64 and other low calories that are under 100 calories

§     Fresh orange juice or homemade organic lemonade has less calories than the high corn syrup prepackage ones.

• Sit down at a table away from the bar and food so you won't be tempted to go get more food.

• Alcohol opens up the appetite. So the more you drink, the more you will eat ruining all the fitness goals you accomplished for the week or maybe a month. This depends on how bad you cheat on your diet. It takes 3500 calories to gain 1 lbs. of FAT! 
• If you want to try everything that is displayed to eat for the event of holiday then get small portions of each.
• Getting 1 - 2 oz of each dish will save you unwanted calories you do not want to take in and will save you from looking like a prude during Thanksgiving.

• Spend time socializing and networking so you don't focus on the food.

• Go for foods you wouldn't normally eat.

o        Eat only 1 - 2 servings of protein and other sides

§     Do not overload your plate

§     One serving or turkey or chicken without skin: 2 oz. = 50 - 70 calories (depending on how it was cooked)

§     Limit your eating to 2nd's and not 3rd's

o        Add whole grain to stuffing

§     Lowers many chronic diseases 

§     Helps weight management 

§     Lowers blood pressure

§     Lowers gum disease and tooth decay

§     Recipes

§     Bulgur Stuffing with Dried Cranberries and Hazelnuts

§     Wild Rice Stuffing With Apple and Sausage

• Look at all the food options before diving right in.

A Weekend of Messing Around With Your Diet Will Ruin a Whole 2 Weeks of Work

Barbell Squat

Nutrition is 80% of the Equation at All Times!!!

I hear it all the time, "I workout to be able to eat" but, are you really making a or any deficit in order to cheat the way you want to? Having clients over the years, I have done everything I can to help them understand that what they put in their mouth can make or break all the hard work they did during the week and month! Most of them never understand what I am talking about until I weigh them after the weekend or a vacation. The research that I have done with my clients over the years have shown me that an average weight gain from 2 cheat days is from 6 - 10 lbs. Average weight gain from a vacation is up to 20 lbs. It takes a week to lose 1- 2 lbs. depending on how compliant the client was to keeping track of their intake and staying active.

Image Credits Shen Therapies

The main thing is that the food and drinks really are that bad! Serving sizes at restaurants are 2 - 4x larger than what you need to eat. A meal (regular food) can be 800 - 3,000 calories in one sitting. Now, imagine adding the drinks and dessert! It takes 3500 calories to gain 1lb. or to lose it. So, now are you still surprised when you don’t keep track of your food, drinks and don’t exercise that you will gain weight? 

Image Credits: Nutra Carina

You have to remember that you are a living organism that grows or shrinks continuously depending on what your lifestyle is like: sendentary, active or athletic. We are not made of plastic. So, gorging yourself over the weekend or vacation instead of doing the standard 1 - 2 cheat meals a week and not staying active will mess up all the hard work you have done. You will have to start all over. Why do this to yourself? You don’t have to eat or drink what your friends, family or etc. to have a good time. Stop looking at your food as fun and look at it like fuel! You won’t be laughing and having fun once you step on the scale.