The greatest time of year is just around the corner, the season where family reunions and social events are awaiting, as well as eating our favorite dishes is the most rewarding.
Our agenda is full of great events in which our main activities involve consuming lots of food, drinks, treats and staying up late.
This season also means presents, gifts, festivities, and with all of that, some extra weight.
As seen in polls, people tend to gain anywhere from 15 to 30 pounds during the holiday season, due to the high consumption of calories and very low physical activity.
But don’t you worry, not everything is lost, here we will show you how to avoid gaining those extra pounds from Thanksgiving to Christmas and New Years Eve.
For starters, breakfast shall never be skipped, studies have shown that those do not skip this meal, only have around a 260 calorie intake, and avoiding it can cause bigger cravings during the day.
This meal is the most important of the day, not only because it can fight hunger, but also helps you maintain and regulate your weight.
Never skip any meal, no matter which one it may be, some of us may think that by doing this we may have more room in our bellies for Dinner but it can lead to an over consumption of calories.
Don’t forget to include fruits and vegetables in your diet, or a snack with fiber. As this will aid your digestion, specially if you will consume more food than usual.
Drink enough water, this will help you stay hydrated, and will reduce your food ingestion. Very importantly, do not forget to stay active if posible, so we don’t gain that extra weight.
Water is your best ally during this time, not only is it an excellent way to have your food, avoiding soda, juice, or drinks containing sugar, it will keep you hydrated if you consume alcohol and facilitate your digestive system.
Moderate your alcohol consumption, one of the main factors of gaining weight is having too many drinks, due to the fact that they are prepared with soda or juice.
Excess sugar makes your body fat increase as glucose levels go up. So, try accompanying your drinks with sparkling water to moderate sugar intake. Remember to avoid excess and if you drink don’t drive.
Use ingredients that are lighter on your stomach and most of all that are healthy. For instance, if you are going to have yogurt make sure it is low fat, this can be a great replacement for dressing for example on your salad. As well as having fat free turkey, chicken, or fish for your protein.
Avoid having useless ingredients in general such as dressing or tortillas, bread, etc.
Don’t stay with the cravings, there is no reason to not try something you have a sweet tooth for as long as you moderate the amounts and don’t go over board. Be conscious of your hunger and cravings.
Enjoy! It is very important to remember that tis the season to have a great time and enjoy family and ourselves as well.
As said before avoid skipping meals, this is just going to lead to a surplus of unnecessary calories the next day. Nutrition specialists suggest having at least fruit, vegetables, yogurt, or something when not hungry, so we don’t spend too much time without food and keep our metabolism going.
Chew slowly, this may sound obvious, but it its important to keep in mind. That feeling of satiety takes a while to send the message to our brain, which is why doing this avoids you getting bloated and digesting our good with more precaution.