5 Tips to Enjoy Your Holiday Meals without Guilt

It’s that time of year again folks! As a dietitian, I kind of  get shunned at Christmas time. People don’t really want to know that that the average person consumes about 6,000 calories on Christmas day – about three times more the daily average. I want you to know however that just like you, I struggle with eating healthy during the holidays especially now that I’m over 50. I seem to crave carbs more than usual and if I look at a Christmas shortbread I gain 2 lbs. But before before you hide your head in a mountain of potatoes, I have some tips so you can actually ENJOY your food without guilt. Let’s face it we all want to ENJOY our holiday favourites and I’m sure you’ve been on enough guilt trips in your life – it would be nice to get through it all without feeling gassy, bloated, and nauseous at the end of the day. So what do you do?

Here are my 5 Tips to Enjoy Your Holiday Meal Without Guilt

1. Eat a high protein breakfast. Try a crustless quiche or a plain old omelette with veggies. You can find one here: Crustless Quiche . This will stabilize your blood sugar and prevent super overindulging later on in the day.
2. Keep your starches (potatoes, stuffing, squash, sweet potatoes) to one quarter of your plate. I can hear the sighs now. I promise you that if you slow down and become super mindful you will enjoy your choices more than if you scarf them down in seconds. This actually allows you to ENJOY and savour your food. Another thing you can do is take a sip of water or put your fork down between each bite.
3. Skip the pre-dinner snacks & hors d’oeuvres. This is a bit of a challenge if you show up to a Christmas gathering starving. Be sure you eat before you go. If you have one apple and one light Babybel cheese (102 kcal) you can stave off your hunger until the “real event”. Conversely five pastry-like hors d’oeuvres provide you with 605 kcal – higher than the average everyday meal!
4. Sit with someone who makes you laugh. What? Yes. Sitting with someone who makes you laugh will keep you feeling grounded, lower your anxiety and increase your serotonin. This strategy allows you to enjoy the company so you don’t have to hide in your plate of food.
5. Choose your favourite dessert and stick to it. Studies have shown that the more variety there is the more we eat. In one study, moviegoers given M&Ms in 10 colours ate 43 percent more than those offered the same number of M&Ms in seven colours. Barbara E. Kahn, a professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania, concluded that not just variety, but the perception of variety, stimulates how much a person consumes. So arm yourself with this knowledge and choose ONE dessert. See if you can eat it slower than everyone else at the dinner.

So there you have it folks – my top 5 Christmas-Day Tips to Enjoy Your Holiday Meal Without Guilt.

Happy Holidays to all!

If you want to boost your metabolism for the month of December I suggest your arm yourself with my FREE bulk cookbook for beginners here. It contains high protein breakfasts, easy peasy dinners and protein for all your lunches. If you prefer a mason jar strategy that will help with a mid afternoon energy boost I’ve got those too, but you’ll have to click here to grab them. If you are looking for more support with DAILY tips and tricks for a healthier life, then head on over to my Hormone Hangout Group on Facebook.  Click picture here:

I have prepared 52 weeks of awesome content where you will feel inspired and motivated to stay healthy at age 40, 50, and beyond!!

Happy Healthy Holidays!

Kelly aka Nutrigal