Four Tips to Avoid Over-Indulging During the Holidays!

The holidays are a time of reunion, celebration, and festivities. Although it’s a special time to make memories for a lifetime, it can also be followed with disappointment and regrets if you over-indulged. Here are four tips to avoid post-holiday blues!

The biggest challenges during the holidays are the lack of physical activity, the erratic meal schedule and the abundance of alcohol.

1. Be active

Take advantage of your days off to plan for some activities that will get you moving! The options are almost endless, both outdoors and indoors: build a snowman, go ice-skating at your local arena, go cross-country skiing in park trails, or dare try a climbing wall! You could also benefit from a simple walk outdoors. Talk to your trainer; he will be able to give you advice, and even make some interesting suggestions.

2. Eat regularly

The most important is not to eat at the scheduled hours, but at rather to evenly space out your meals. A well-balanced meal will provide enough nutrients to sustain you for about four hours. During the holidays, it is better to eat frequently, but in small quantities than to skip meals only to binge later on. We all tried to use this approach, and frankly, feeling like a beached whale is not very appealing, is it? Make it a habit to eat a snack before going to an evening party to ensure you don’t wolf down all the appetizers.

Sample schedule for holiday vacations

9 h Wake up and eat breakfast
13 h Lunch
16 h Snack
18 h Appetizers
20 h Dinner

3. Drink in moderation

Remember that the calories contained in alcoholic beverages with not make you feel full (quite the contrary) nor provide any nutrients. In addition, each glass contains between 60 and 260 calories; this adds up fast!
It is absolutely healthy to treat yourself sometimes, as long as you do so in moderation. If you want to drink alcohol, select a drink that you really enjoy and make a point to savour it! You will enjoy it that much more. Otherwise, read the article “Alcohol and Holidays… How to Get Through it Without too much Damage” for sound advice on how to manage your alcohol consumption over the holidays.

4. Offer healthy alternatives

If you are inviting guests over for the evening, why not make the most of this opportunity to offer a healthy menu? Instead of battered and deep-fried appetizers, prepare colourful appetizers using basic ingredients: vegetables, fruits, dairy products, nuts and seeds, etc. Here are some example that will inspire you:
Holiday Bite-Sized Appetizers!
Cottage Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes
Vegetarian Spring Rolls
Zesty Hummus

Offer your guests a variety of vegetables enhanced with herbs, vinegar, and a multitude of spices, for example cranberry-pistachio braised vegetables as a side dish for a well-balanced, delicious meal (https://www.nautilusplus.com/turkey-roll-with-caramelized-apples-and-cranberries/?f=1?forceEnglish=true#force) . What could beat that? However, if you are a guest, suggest a pot luck so you can bring some healthy appetizers or raw vegetables.

Don’t hesitate to ask your nutritionist for recommendations to get through the holidays. You’ll get surprising recipe ideas and the best advice out there! Happy holidays!

Dominique Longpré, P. Dt., nutritionist for Zero Diet

The Zero Diet brand is first and foremost the conviction that healthy eating is a primary factor to attaining a healthy weight and a balanced lifestyle. Thus, we offer nutrition counselling with nutritionists who are members of the OPDQ with our Zero Diet nutrition program in our centers and in companies. We have also developed a healthy frozen food product line that fulfills rigorous nutritional criteria as well as two healthy Zero Diet cookbooks.

Photo credit: Pexel

Four Tips to Avoid Over-Indulging During the Holidays! is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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