It’s the holiday season – the holiday season, a-fuckedy-doo, frickity frack, the perfect excuse to overload on fat! By the end of it all I’ll have wings like a bat….
Okay I’ll stop rewriting the lyrics to popular holiday songs and try to get somewhat serious.
It tis the season to eat a lot of food, fa-la-la-la-la, fuck my life!
Alright I'm seriously done now. On with the myTake!
With my cussing and stupidity aside, I am actually going to touch on a genuine topic and give you some serious advice to help you survive the allure of overeating during the holidays. Let’s face it: we all pretty much turn into bears once the winter rolls around; we tell ourselves it’s too cold to go to the gym and that we have a “good excuse” to eat ridiculous amounts of delicious food. From holiday stress, to family dinners, to simply not having enough time due to holiday work deadlines or otherwise – we all say we have a good reason for ordering or picking up food, or just generally eating bad. The fact of the matter is, is that we’re just creating excuses for ourselves and we don’t have any real reason to eat bad other than that is what we want to do. Period. Come on, get with the honesty hour and just accept that no matter what, you can make a healthy option.
Don’t give me the “I have no time, the drive through is my only option!” because I’ll call b/s. Even if it is your only option, you DO NOT have to get a cheese burger and fries. Almost every restaurant offers healthy menu items that you can get without overloading on calories, sodium, and saturated fat – you just don’t ever get them. You tell yourself that if you’re going to a fast food place there’s NO POINT in eating healthy, or that you won’t get full off of a grilled chicken wrap like you will with a burger.
Blah, blah, blah. Come on now, denial!
Oh but this isn’t the only thing. People use the holiday season alone as an excuse to not eat good. You know the types: always stocked up on all of the Christmas themed treats, constantly overloading during family dinners without a care in the world – we’ve all pretty much been this person at one point in our lives or we know someone like this. I have always been this person myself - until last year that is, when I decided to make a change and dropped a much needed 20 lbs.
I get it though: everything is a party, everything needs too much food, and you’ll be sent home with leftovers upon leftovers of delicious eats that aren’t waistline friendly. What can you possibly do when this is how we treat the holidays?
I’ve been saying it for about four paragraphs: stop making excuses.
No, Seriously: Stop Making Excuses
I’m not saying you can’t indulge at all over the holidays, but you need to keep it within moderation and own up to the fact that there’s no excuse for it. If you’re going to eat bad, you need to own that decision, acknowledge it, and plan to do better next time. Be that by managing your time better, by eating a fulfilling healthy breakfast so you aren’t starving come lunchtime, or by having friends over to your place for dinner instead of going out. Whatever the case may be, you need to follow up a bad decision with a good decision instead of justifying your poor choices. If you get into the habit of justifying your bad choices, then you’re going to form an unhealthy mentality that overeating is okay as long as you give yourself a reason for it.
Remember: there is a difference between treating yourself and over indulging, and if you need an excuse to do it, then you’re not treating yourself: you’re OVER INDULGING.
Keep Up the Workout
Yes, it’s cold outside and yes it gets dark earlier, so if the gym is really out of your way, you may be tempted to just skip over it and rely on your holiday shopping trips to fill in as your exercise. As good as it is that it keeps you active, walking around the mall is not going to replace a good, toning workout.
You may have other legitimate reasons for not going to the gym, especially if you don’t have a car, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop working out.
Yes, you can workout at home or even get involved with some outdoor winter activities to keep yourself from regaining the flab you worked so hard to flatten when the weather was warm.
Youtube yourself some videos on good workouts to do outside or at home and aim to do them at least three times a week, even if it’s only for 20-30 minutes, it’s better than nothing!
Do Your Grocery Shopping!
My mother was really bad for this: she would overspend on baking supplies and spend so much time and money on Christmas shopping that she would all but neglect the fact that there was no food in the house. KFC was a quick fix, but it only ended up costing her that much more money. Unnecessary spending is just a side-effect of the holidays.
I get that you’re busy with deadlines and buying presents, but you’re going to have to make the time to make your own list, check it twice, and make your way to the damn grocery store.
If you can find the time to string your house up with lights and shop for relatives you barely know, you can find the time to get some wholesome food in your house.
So, if that means you split up Christmas shopping trips up over a few days instead of just one or two in order to make time to go and grab groceries then that is what you have to do. Or, better yet, pick a day and do a grocery haul if you must – just make sure you are never coming home to a barren fridge and an empty pantry, lest you be tempted by the ever-so-alluring takeout menu stuck to your fridge with a Santa Paws magnet.
Embrace the Cold and CROCK POT
Nobody has any time, right? So why not invest in something that can do all of the cooking for your while you’re out and about? Yes, this is prime crock pot season and there is no shortage of healthy recipes out there specifically for the crock pot.
All you have to do is some prep the night before, throw it in there and let it cook all day while you’re at work or doing your shopping.This way, all you have to do is walk through the door, dish up and eat. It’s that easy!
What’s great is you can also take the freezer-meal approach, where you freeze full meals in ziplock bags and then just add them to your crock pot to cook all day while you aren’t at home. If you guys are interested in some of my favorite crock pot recipes, let me know in the comments below.
Don’t Fall for the Winter Bev
Peppermint mochas, sugar-cookie-fraps, mint chocolate-whipped topping, sprinkles galore! All of it sounds delicious, and it’s easy to assume that having a little sweet drinky-poo isn’t nearly as bad as getting an actual pastry, right?
It is just as bad, though.
Don’t fool yourself into believing that just because you aren’t eating a solid food or even that you don’t feel full that you’re not pumping your body with unnecessary fat.
There’s so much sugar and unnecessary fats in those delicious holiday inspired beverages that you might be better off eating a cookie instead.
Creams, candy toppings, whipped topping, sugar-sugar-sugar! None of it is good for you and it isn’t harmless simply because it’s a liquid. If you absolutely must have yourself a tasty hot beverage, maybe try a new holiday tea, or see if there are low-fat options available. If there aren’t, it might be a good idea to bring yourself a travel mug with a bit of coffee and maybe just a touch of flavoring, or bring a peppermint tea. Either is a lot better than anything I mentioned above.
Indulge, Don’t Over-Indulge
Last but certainly not least, you have to remember that the actual holiday you plan on celebrating … is probably only one day. Unless of course you’re Jewish or if you celebrate something different.
But even with that considered, the holidays do not equate to every single day in the winter months, so there’s no reason to be stuffing your face every single day.
A treat here, a nibble there, and finally your salvation: the actual holiday-day. This is the time where you can indulge on all of the treats and home cooked delicacies that come with celebrating the holidays … but that doesn’t mean you have to completely over do it either.
A lot of us make the mistake of overeating any time we have a socially acceptable reason to. If we’re treating ourselves to our favorite holiday cookies, then we eat the whole box; if we’re at Grandma’s house for Christmas, we’ll stuff our faces with three plates of potluck deliciousness without a second thought. This is the fatal flaw in the holidays: the spirit of overeating. So, what can you do to make sure you indulge in all of the holiday goodness without overdoing it? Well, it’s simple: portions, portions, portions, planning, planning, planning.
Instead of filling your plate up with tons of food, try taking small portions that consist of a little-bit of everything and avoid too much pregame snacking. If you absolutely live for the snacks, then fill up on mostly finger foods and have a little bit of the actual meal, but if you live for the holiday meals, then try to limit how much you snack beforehand. It’s all about finding balance.
Also, if you’re not hungry anymore: stop. Don’t continue eating. Let your food settle and go back for a little more later if you get hungry again.
Alright folks, that’s all for my tips on how to prevent ballooning over the holidays. Remember to treat yourselves without overdoing it and keep in mind that the holidays are more about family than they are about food. Have yourselves a safe and happy holiday season and thank you as always for reading.
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