Healthy Holiday-Eating Strategies

Staying fit during the holidays can be stressful and challenging, especially if your friends and family are not as health-conscious as you. Holiday treats and homemade desserts are hard to resist.  Fortunately, we’ve prepared some healthy tips to help you stay fit and have a healthy holiday.

• Eat the healthiest offerings first.  Before diving into the main course, help yourself to healthy appetizers such as soup or salad. Healthy first courses will fill you up faster and prevent you from eating too much later on.  
• B.Y.O.B (Bring your own broccoli). Healthy foods are usually the last thing you can expect to see at a holiday party.  Bring your own healthy dish so you know you’ll be covered.
• Avoid mindless munching.  Congregating near the buffet table makes you more likely to eat even when you’re full.  Instead, move socializing away from the food to minimize any unconscious nibbling. If you’re the host of the party, consider serving food in only one room, leaving the rest of your home free for socializing.
• Focus on fun, not food.  Food doesn’t have to be the main focus at your holiday party. Take the focus off food by incorporating fun activities for your guest to enjoy.  Options to consider are karaoke, a white elephant gift exchange, Christmas caroling or a spirited game of charades.
• Keep liquid calories in check. A holiday party isn’t the same without eggnog, if your of-age of course. Unfortunately this popular holiday beverage is also one of the unhealthiest.  Limit yourself to a shot glass-size serving of nog, then stick to water or wine for the remainder of the night.

The holidays are a great time for celebrating with loved ones over food and drinks. With just a little preparation and these healthy tips, you can stay fit and still enjoy all that the holidays have to offer.