Holiday Eating can run amuck, leaving us to feel bloated and tired, but if you follow these simple tips, you can avoid the extra fat gain with these tips to avoid holiday weight gain and maybe even lose some pounds too.
I myself struggled with holiday eating for the longest time. I'd look forward to the holidays often because it was an acceptable excuse to eat like crap, and as a result, I'd often feel like crap. The fact is, you don't have to live this way.
What if I told you there is a way to avoid holiday weight gain and even lose some of the fat you've gained during the rest of the year?
Ready? Read on for the top 3 tips that helped me kick the holiday bloat.
Tip #1: Don't Leave the House Hungry
Hunger leads to many problems, including overeating and eating unhealthy, high-calorie foods. I never leave the house without first eating a healthy snack or meal to avoid any of these potential problems.
I try to avoid sugar because it leads to insulin spikes that cause your body's hunger cravings to go on a rollercoaster ride.
I don't think is realistic to think that you'll never eat sugar and treats on the holidays, but I do think that you can set yourself up for success by eating a little healthy food before leaving the house.
Eating a healthy meal before going to social events is a great way to avoid overeating when surrounded by delicious food you can't resist. I can hear some of you now... "Wait, you mean I need to eat more?" Yes, kind of.
By eating a little healthy food before you leave the house, you'll be much less likely to end up bloated next to the buffet and unable to stop eating. Next time you're going to a social event, try filling up on carrot sticks and a little choice breast or a protein shale before you leave. The key is to have something in your stomach that has minimal calories and a maximal satiety effect.
Tip #2: Don't skip sleep
Often when we're on the holidays, it's easy to get tempted into sacrificing a few hours of sleep here and there to get a few more hours with friends. While this may seem like a good idea at the moment, it's actually a recipe for disaster.
By skipping sleep, you're likely to become irritable, impatient, and experience greater cravings. This will lead to overeating because you lack the ability to control your eating habits. Even if you try and avoid eating junk food, you'll find yourself with less time, less discipline, and unable to avoid unhealthy foods. Heck, even the food itself is gonna taste better, and you'll quickly find an extra two or three cookies, burgers, or scoops of mac salad onto your plate.
The moral of the story, DO NOT skip your sleep. Everything health and fitness becomes exponentially harder with even so little as a single hour of lost sleep.
Tip #3: Eat Protein and Fiber First
Protein is more satiating than carbs or fats. This may seem trivial, but this knowledge can do a lot to help you gain control of your holiday eating. Over my years of coaching, I've found that the cure to cravings is never to eat less.
You can eat a very low amount of calories while enjoying a huge amount of food on your plate. The trick is to understand which foods can fill you up in a tasty way without the extra calories.
One of my favorites is to fill up on a grilled chicken breast and a few handfuls of carrots. This combo is tasty, easy to grab, and you can eat it on the run to your next function.
Give this a try before your next social event, and let me know how it goes!
