Category: Healthy Snacks

How To Enjoy Your Holiday Season Without Gaining Weight

Christmas fitness woman wearing santa hat

The holiday season is officially here!  I personally love this time of year and my desire for you is that you would enjoy everything the season has to offer without the notorious weight gain that the media and diet industry warns you about constantly.

You may have even heard or read recent media reports that the average weight gain between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is seven to ten pounds.  Holy cow!  That number seemed high to me so I did a little digging and fortunately, it’s turning out to be a myth. The truth is the average person gains about one to two pounds during the holiday season.

With that being said, I’m guessing you’d rather not gain ANY weight this holiday season so I’ve put together a list of simple ways you can enjoy yourself without adding on the extra pounds that can come along with it.

  1. Set realistic goals.  If you are currently losing weight, congratulations!  During the holidays I recommend you give yourself a break and set a very vital yet realistic goal. Maintain your weight. If you maintain your weight, you’ll already be ahead once January rolls around.
  2. Exercise.  Now is not the time to stop exercising. As tempting as it is to skip exercise to take care of something else on your to do list, you want to burn calories so you can enjoy the special treats without the unwanted pounds.
  3. Plan ahead. Schedule all your commitments for the season on your calendar. This will help you plan your exercise time.  You may decide to exercise at home rather than drive to the gym. Try a mini-trampoline or an exercise video.  Or, take your workout outside and go for a hike or a walk.  Being outdoors is a major stress-reliever.  On days that are tightly scheduled, commit to a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise to keep your momentum and your metabolism boosted. Something is always better than nothing.
  4. Do some offline shopping. You can get in your exercise while supporting your local businesses and salespeople. Win-win.
  5. Pay attention to portion sizes. Take larger portions of the fruits and veggies and smaller than normal portions of the richer fare like scalloped potatoes, prime rib, desserts, etc. Watch the dressings on the salad — put it on yourself and be conservative. Go for the dressings that will drip to the bottom of the bowl. Consider trade-offs such as if you have a glass of champagne, you may want to have just a bite of dessert.
  6. Wear form-fitting clothes. This is a great way to keep weight from piling on. You will know if your weight is out of whack if those jeans feel a bit snug. This will help you take action before things get out of control.
  7. Lighten up traditional recipes. Got to have your pumpkin pie? That’s okay! Choose lighter recipes than the more traditional fare. Cooking Light is one of my favorite magazines; however, there are many recipes on the web that have been modified to reduce calories and taste delicious.
  8. Avoid showing up to a party hungry.  This is huge!  Keep fruit, nuts, energy bars, shakes, whatever is your go to snack, with you.  Or, if you’re at home, eat a small meal before you head out to the party. When you are overly hungry, you can mindlessly overeat.  The tiny quiches look way more appealing than the fruit and veggie platters when you haven’t eaten for hours. Start with a glass of water and then check out the food platters.  If you are dehydrated the body will use hunger to signal thirst.  When you are properly hydrated you will feel more satisfied and full after eating.
  9. There are only a few days that are actual holidays–eat normally the rest of the days. When you treat every day like it’s Thanksgiving Day with the excuse “it’s the holidays,” you are at risk of packing on the pounds.
  10. Use a Fitness Tracker.  Most smartphones come with health apps that allow you to track your steps.  Things like household chores and walking at the mall all count as exercise.  The more physical you get, the more calories you burn.  Keeping track of your activity levels can help motivate you to squeeze in extra steps throughout your day.

Most importantly, have fun!  Stress can contribute to weight gain so be gentle on yourself.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and super blessed holiday season!

With Love,
Jennifer

Have a comment or question?  Please leave it below.  I love to hear from you!

 
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Nine Ways To Avoid Workplace Weight Gain This Holiday Season

The holiday season is upon us! And, that usually means parties and tempting goodies in the workplace. So be careful! Munching on too many goodies at your workplace combined with other personal festivities can lead to weight gain.

Here are nine tips to help you avoid workplace weight gain traps!

 

1) Put a lid on it! Cover goodies with foil or a lid to avoid mindless munching.

2)  Show off the veggies! Leave the veggies uncovered to encourage lower calorie choices when grazing.

3)  Share! When dining with a coworker, consider splitting larger portions when it’s appropriate.

4)  Be different! Try socializing and celebrating without food.

5)  Limit Liquid Calories. Keep cocktails and liquid calories to a minimum at the workplace.  Saving these types of drinks for your personal time can cut down greatly on calorie consumption during the holidays.

6)  Avoid eating at your desk. Unless it’s the lunch you brought from home with planned portion sizes, eating at your desk can cause you to overeat. It’s similar to eating in front of the TV.  If you’re not careful, you’ll eat a larger portion than you need without noticing it.

If you’re going to eat one of the office goodies, eat it in the break room. Taking it back to your desk will make it too easy to repeat the process throughout the day.

7)  Limit the “office feeder” influence. Every workplace has people that “love” to feed everyone. It’s in their nature!

Have a quick department or office pow-wow and agree to only have extra goodies one day of the week during the holiday season. This will minimize hurt feelings and can help you and your coworkers watch your waist lines as well!

8)  Set the example! Bring in healthier snacks and replace candy with dried fruit or nuts.

9)  Support each other! If you know someone is trying to lose weight, you may not want to advertise the awesome fudge that showed up mysteriously in the break room or give them a huge box of chocolates for a gift.

These tips can be used in your volunteer workplace as well. Try using them at your local church, your kid’s school, and various other non-profit environments.

It is totally possible to enjoy the festivities of the season without the weight gain!

Cheers!

Jennifer

 

Healthy Seasonal Foods For Fall

The Fall season is officially here!  And, the new season brings a great variety of fruits and vegetables that can help you stay on track with your healthy eating plan without compromising great taste!

Explore local farmer’s markets, roadside stands, and grocery stores for an abundance of good eats this time of year.  To help you get started, here’s a list of in-season fruits and vegetables and ideas on how to incorporate them in your weekly diet.

Try these tasty fruits and vegetables for fall!

1) Apples.  Harvest Season: August-November.

Apples make great on the go snacks.  Use them in salads, with savory dishes like pork chops; or chop them up and put them in yoghurt.

2)  Dates.  Harvest Season: September-December.

Dates are great in baked goods. Try chopping up a few for your oatmeal or over the top of frozen yoghurt.  For savory dishes, look for low-cal middle eastern recipes that include dates.

3)  Grapefruit.  Harvest Season: September-April.

Add over greens or squeeze fresh for a healthy juice.

4)  Kiwi.  Harvest Season:  September-March.

Kiwis are a great add to spice up a fruit salad or a smoothie.

5)  Pears.  Harvest Season: August-February.

Pears are one of my favorites because they are so versatile.  This fruit is great as a snack, added to mixed greens, used in savory dishes, or poached with a bit of cinnamon for a low-cal healthy dessert.

6)  Tangerines.  Harvest season:  November-April

Add these sweet little low-cal treats to yoghurt, pack in lunches, snack on them, use as dessert, or add to a salad.

7)  Brussel Sprouts.  Harvest Season: September-March.

I must confess, it took me awhile to like these wonderful little cabbages.  Now, they are one of my favorites this time of year! Try roasting brussel sprouts with olive oil, or sauteing with butter and garlic.  Serve with roasted meat and mashed potatoes.

8)  Cauliflower:  Harvest Season: September-June.

Use cauliflower to make fantastic soups, in stir-fries, or steamed with other vegetables as a side. Chop up cauliflower with other veggies and serve with a low-cal yoghurt dip for parties.

9) Squash.  Harvest Season:  October-February

There are so many varieties of squash and ways to prepare them. Try them steamed,  stir-fried, or in soups.  I’ve even used butternut squash to make a low-cal bechamel sauce!

10)  Pumpkin.  Harvest Season:  October-February.

Pumpkin is used mostly in desserts like pies and cakes. You can use it for waffles, pancakes, and breads.  Search for low-cal substitutes of these sweeter treats and keep portions in check.

11)  Sweet Potatoes.  Harvest Season:  September-December.

Not just for Thanksgiving Day anymore. Roast them. Make mashed sweet potatoes, or baked french fries.  If you’re cooking for 1-2 people, save time in the kitchen by microwaving a large sweet potato.

12)  Turnips.  Harvest Season:  September-April.

Try these tasty root vegetables roasted with olive oil or in stews.

13)  Parsnips.  Harvest Season:  October-April.

Add parsnips to other root vegetables and puree for a sweeter soup, or roast with potatoes and carrots for a wonderful blend.

14)  Rutabaga.  Harvest Season:  October-April.

Honestly, I haven’t cooked with this one yet.  I discovered it when researching my list for this article.  It’s a cross between a turnip and a cabbage.  Suggested uses include  roasting, or adding to casseroles and soups along with turnips and carrots.  I’ll report. You decide!

Decide which fruits and vegetables you’d like to incorporate into your healthy eating plan and use low-cal recipes that include these foods as ingredients.  You can find great low-cal seasonal recipes in Cooking Light  and Eating Well magazines.

Have fun experimenting with healthy seasonal foods. Browse your produce stand and farmer’s market.  When eating out, ask your food server what’s fresh — and depending where you live — ask what’s local on the menu.

Please feel free to share any great recipes or snack ideas you come up with.  I want to hear from you!

Blessings!

Jennifer