The holiday’s are exciting times of reunion and feasting. The food is great, but many of us have anxiety just at the thought of eating all that great food! On top of that, the new year is just around the corner. Can you think of a worse way to start off your new year’s resolution of weight loss other than adding on a few unwanted pounds? Well, I’m here to help you not only AVOID putting on fat this holiday season, but to actually help you lose fat DURING the holidays!
Avoid the Soda
Drinking is often overlooked, but it can be a really big contributor to those pesky extra pounds. Red wine in small amounts is okay, but you want to do your best to avoid any sugary drinks. Sodas and fruit juices are just as dangerous as each other. Stay away!
Stick to iced teas, carbonated water, flavored water (unsweetened) and just plain old water. This is going to help prevent a lot of misery in the days to follow.
Avoid the Heavy Sides
I love mashed potatoes and butternut squash just as much as the next person, but unfortunately these foods are pretty carb dense. While each of us have individual tolerance to carbohydrates, the reality still remains the same: carbohydrates are the biggest contributors to weight gain and fat storage. You want to avoid the rolls, the starchy squash, potatoes and cranberry sugary cranberry sauce.
Try to put some gravy or mayonnaise on your turkey. Steamed or roasted vegetables and mushrooms can make for fabulous sides. Even string beans and carrots in a spare amount can make for a fulfilling Thanksgiving dinner.
Skip Dessert
This one is pretty easy. Just skip dessert. Forget the pumpkin pie and apple crisps. Focus on filling up on that hot fresh turkey and gravy.
The whole idea is to get your fix from the foods that won’t tell your body to store energy. Simple carbs and sugars are so easily digested and dumped into the blood stream, that our bodies begin to look for ways to dispose of that glucose quickly. Unfortunately, there’s only so much we can handle. The rest is transported to our fat cells via insulin and stored there.
As long as we avoid the foods that raise our blood sugar and trigger an insulin storage response in our bodies, we should avoid putting on any unnecessary weight.
Eat with confidence and happy holidays everyone!
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