Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Does that give you pause and bring thoughts of dread?
Fears of gaining 5 pounds because you looked at desserts during the holidays?
Have you already given up on your health goals because the holidays are here?
Create Your Holiday Food Plan
You don’t need to give up. You just need to have a plan. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. A plan can be very simple.
The Most Important Step 1
Plan to Eat When You are Hungry and Stop When You are satisfied. Write it at the top of the page. Post it on the bathroom mirror. Put a sticky note on the fridge. Add the reminders so you don’t forget to check if you are hungry.
Step 2
Don’t deprive yourself. Ask what will be included in your holiday meal. The host may have an idea or may have assigned people to bring certain items. If your meal is from a restaurant then look or ask for the holiday menu.
You want to know what will be there so you can decide ahead of time what you really want and what foods are not important for your celebration.
Step 3
Add the items you love to your plan. You don’t need amounts unless you typically plan with amounts. You don’t even need the specific dish because you can indicate the servings of types of food. Example one serving of a vegetable, protein, carb, or dessert. When you get there you can decide which is my protein, which is my dessert.
Step 4
Make sure you have enough items and not too many to have a typical size meal for you. You can usually judge this if you use a similar size plate to the one you use daily.
Step 5
Don’t undereat your breakfast so you can fit more of the holiday meal in. You will just feel over hungry and will overeat because you gave yourself the room. Overall mentally and physically it is better to eat your typical meal size during the holidays instead of overeating.
Step 6
Plan to take food home that you wanted to try but didn’t have room to eat to have tomorrow. Your host will be happy to get rid of some leftovers and you won’t be so full you can’t move from trying everything.
Step 7
Chew your food. You don’t have to Eat Everything on Your Plate. If you tend to forget chewing this is important. With each bite chew 3-5 more times. You will end up with less gas, less heartburn, and less belly pain if you chew your food more than before. The chewing will also allow your body time to indicate you are satisfied.
Always remember to go back to step 1 only eat when hungry and stop when satisfied.
Watch this video to see my Christmas Food Plan.
There you have it. A food plan doesn’t need to be scary or take a long time. Make it simple, make sure it has things you love, and enjoy every bite.
If you want more ways to have a healthier holiday meal check out What to do Before and After your Holiday Meal.
