Holidays – 9 Tips On How To Eat Healthy

We all know that Christmas is a time of great abundance, which is why we need to learn to control our food consumption and the ability to switch from high-calorie meals to lighter ones whenever possible.

A holiday is a time of celebration and sharing with the people closest to us. But with all the festivities around this period – eating healthy – can turn out to be quite a challenge.

All this very often makes people paranoid, that they will disrupt their diet and training routines, and all the progress they have made before will be forgotten.

Due to the fact that we want to help you, we have prepared tips – how to eat healthy during the holiday season. You will see that it is much easier than you think.

Eat something healthy before leaving the house

Are you going to a Christmas dinner with your work colleagues and you know it will be packed with high-calorie foods? Usually, in these situations, the menu at events contains a lot more unhealthy carbohydrates than vegetables. During this period, it is difficult to find any healthy solutions in the context of what we can eat.

To make sure you eat healthy during the holidays, prepare a light salad containing green leafy vegetables, proteins and a large dose of dietary fiber.

You can eat a standard portion about two hours before you go out for dinner: this way you won’t have to eat as much food there to feel a full belly.

Try to stick to your normal schedule

A very common mistake on Christmas is changing the time of our meals. If you are forced to wait a few hours longer than normal to eat your meal, it is natural to eat more and eat less healthy.

Additionally, when it is time to provide yourself with meals every day, there is a high risk that you will eat again during this time.

If you have plans to go somewhere you know there will be food, follow the previous advice and eat a light salad before you leave.

Eat normal meals

Eating healthy over the holidays is essential for the health of people suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure or other medical conditions. Not only your body weight will suffer, but your blood sugar and blood pressure will also suffer.

Therefore, in this case, you need to be sure that you choose the food that is as close as possible to the one that is the basis of your daily diet.

In the event that there is not a large selection of healthy foods on the menu, and everything is either deep-fried or very sweet – then you should reduce the portion sizes you choose to eat.

If you have the option to choose something cooked or rich in vegetables, always choose these options before the unhealthy ones. Remember that fruit in large amounts also contains a lot of sugar.

Choose “real” food first

During the Christmas dinner gathering, you will often find zero-nutritional snacks. Before you fill your plate with them, think about a healthy alternative.

Always choose foods that contain proteins and vegetables, and avoid pasta and flour products. This way, you make room for a sugar reward later – some delicious dessert.

Don’t forget to irrigate

Drinking enough fluids will reduce your appetite very noticeably. If you feel like you want something more, drink a glass of water first. This way, you can avoid eating one bowl too much, or you can just eat less overall.

Replace traditional recipes with more nutritious ones

Have you already thought about your menu for the upcoming holidays? It’s very likely you’ve already started planning your Christmas dinner. If so, you probably noticed that Christmas food is not the definition of healthy eating.

Try to create alternative options for your traditional recipes and replace unhealthy ingredients with healthier ones.

You can also replace sugar, which is very high in calories, with natural sweeteners such as:

Honey
Agave
Hanukkah honey

You can also modify most of your recipes by changing the ingredients to healthy.

Be in control of the amount of alcohol you drink

Alcohol and various types of cocktails often accompany Christmas gatherings. Both variants are loaded with calories. Carbohydrates and huge amounts of sugar will definitely not be a friend of your healthy eating habits.

Avoid these drinks as much as possible. If you are unable to refuse yourself alcohol, choose wisely. Always choose those that are mixed with sparkling or still water. Avoid those with the addition of sweetened drinks.

In this way, you will limit the impact they have on your body, and your intake will be more balanced because you are well hydrated.

Among the drinks, always try to choose those with as few ingredients as possible. Above all, avoid those that contain juices, carbonated drinks, etc. Such drinks contain far too much sugar in their composition.

Additionally, avoid syrups and concentrates; they contain amazing amounts of sugar, which, combined with a hearty meal, will definitely have a negative effect on your body.

Holidays – Apply the 80/20 rule

It is a method that will never fail if you want to eat healthy during the holidays or any other time. According to this principle, 80% of everything you consume is something healthy, and you leave the remaining 20% to satisfy your whims.

This principle is very simple to apply and it will not make you feel like you are denying yourself something, because you will know that you can afford anything.

However, you must bear in mind that if you suffer from any medical condition that requires a strict diet (such as diabetes) this strategy is not recommended.

Don’t change your daily routine

During the holidays, maintaining our daily routine is a highly complicated matter. However, eating healthy will be much easier if we try to maintain our daily habits. Don’t forget to create your eating plan and always stick to your training regime.

Follow the tips in the article and eat healthy.