Guest Author - Kathy L. Brown
Dieters often dread November and December. Temptation lurks around every corner from Halloween until New Year's Day. A little planning can go a long way toward maintaining a healthy diet without feeling deprived of the season's fun.
Count your blessing. For most people in the world, an overabundance of delicious food is not a problem. Finding clean drinking water and enough calories to avoid starvation is. In a spirit of gratitude, consider donating some of your holiday “fun food” budget or time to a local soup kitchen or overseas effort to help the less fortunate.
Lighten up. It's just one meal. (If it is just one meal!) Consider giving yourself permission to enjoy the feast, then get right back on the wagon afterward. For some people, that wouldn't be possible; they're better able to maintain their healthy diet without any break. Know yourself and your eating pattern.
Take control. Even if you are not hosting the holiday meal, make sure healthy choices are available. A fresh green salad is often missing from Thanksgiving dinner; make it a new tradition. It doesn't have to be boring; dried cranberries, nut, and tangy cheese, in moderation, will fit right in with the tastes of the season. Salad is high volume and low calorie: it fills you up! Vegetable side dishes are often bathed in butter and sugar in honor of the holiday—provide alternative versions and your waistline (and many of your guests) will thank you.
Maintain your routine. Do not skip any meals. Long periods without food will throw off your blood sugar, hunger cues, and metabolism. You may wish to keep breakfast and lunch to around 300 to 400 hundred high-protein calories, but make sure you eat something so that you are not walking into the holiday meal starved!
Keep moving. Even if you can't maintain your usual exercise routine, organize a walk, a touch football game, or anything active to burn calories before or after the holiday meal. You may feel like vegging front of the TV, but a few minutes of fresh air and exercise will get those calories burning.
