If it hasn’t already started for you, the rounds of family gatherings and parties is hitting its full swing this week.
With those events comes the mountains of food and endless buffets filled with holiday treats like fudge, frosted cookies, eggnog, dips, Chex mix (homemade of course because only loads of real butter in it will do – oh and lots of cashews too), cocktail sausages (wrapped in bacon for extra fatty deliciousness), cheese in cubes and cheese in cheese balls and cheese in fondue and just about any form that can be imagined. And that’s not counting the actual Christmas day meal nor all the temptations we face while holiday shopping (the smell of Cinnabon practically makes me swoon!).
Is it any wonder the average American gains weight over the holidays, and according to WebMD we don’t lose all that weight after the obligatory New Year’s resolutions to join the gym and only eat salads for the entire month of January. No, we tend to hang on to at least a pound a year, which added up over time leads to lots of extra pudge.
I used to tend to “let loose” over the holidays and ate to the point of bursting (I practically bought Tums by the case and I only thought of that because over the weekend I saw someone at Walmart stocking up on Tums and she literally had her arms full of bottles of Tums – gave me heartburn just thinking about it).
Last year was the first year I made a conscious effort to not overdo it. My goal was to maintain my current weight over the holidays (although secretly I was hoping to lose a couple of pounds because I was really watching what I ate). I ended up gaining a pound which wasn’t my goal but it was a lot better than previous years when I typically gained between five and ten pounds.
This year I truly do hope to be a “loser” during the Christmas holidays, especially since I spent the last 2 months “letting loose” and gaining back 14 pounds (although according to my scale this morning 2 of those stubborn pounds have come off in the last week but I’m not going to celebrate until I get the “official” reading at my Weight Watchers meeting tomorrow morning).
But instead of trying to follow a bunch of “rules” about what to eat and drink I’m keeping it simple with just 3 guidelines that I’m going to follow:
1) half my plate will be filled with fruits and vegetables and I will eat those first so that I’m not so tempted to overdo it on the higher calorie stuff (and 25 percent of it will be filled with cocktail shrimp if they are available – low calorie and super delicious!).
2) I will drink lots of water so I’m not eating when I’m actually thirsty and to help flush the extra sodium out of my body that is going to be in that tasty holiday food
3) I will stop eating when I’m satisfied even if I know I will not be able to have that particular food again until next Christmas.
That’s it – just three guidelines. I’m keeping it simple so I can actually enjoy myself rather than standing by the buffet agonizing over what I’m going to allow myself to eat.
Because really, the holidays aren’t about stuffing ourselves to oblivion. It’s about spending time with friends and family and in my house it’s also about celebrating the birth of Jesus.
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