Written by Jordyn King BS, MS Nutrition Science

Did you know during the holidays no matter the time of year it is, can significantly impact your weight loss journey?  And getting into the fall and winter season, it that time of year when you make your homemade favorite Christmas cookies and your holiday classic dishes. However, weight gain can be a common concern for many adults and older adults during the holiday season. When the holiday season comes around, it may encourage over-eating and consumption of high calorie rich foods.

Here are 5 ways to stay in your weight goal during the holiday season: 

Watch your portion sizes

During the holiday season. We tend to overload our plates with a variety of different foods, We just want to try everything that’s on the holiday festivities table! We tend to increase our  portion sizes getting the into the holiday spirit. When they say eating turkey can make you sleepy, thats not necessarily the case. The reason is on thanksgiving you eat more than you can handle and be in as we like to call it in a “food coma”. This is when your body is telling you that you are eating too much in one sitting. 

Adults who eat larger portion sizes tend to gain weight more easily than those who don’t. The best way to overcome this is to control portion sizes or use a smaller plate. Using a smaller play can decrease the amount of calories you are consuming and creating a smaller portion for your meals to control your eating. We tend to consume larger portions from bigger plate sizes which can lead to over eating. Remember you’re not eliminating food, you are limiting your portion sizes. In order to determine the appropriate portion size for each food; read food labels recipes or recommended serving sizes listed on recipes. If you can’t do either use your best judgment. 

Keep your meals balanced with protein

High protein foods are important to snack on throughout the day. High protein sources can promote a sense of fullness because it signals the release of your appetite-suppressing hormones in the body which can slow down digestion and stabilize your blood sugar levels. Most holiday meals are typically rich in carbs, fat and low in protein intake. However, it’s important to include in high protein intake with every meal since it promotes fullness, energy and the usefulness of weight maintenance. Keep in mind, protein is always beneficial with weight control because it increases your metabolism and reduces your appetite. For each meal, it is best to include around 30 to 45 grams of protein per meal. Good sources of protein can include meat, eggs, poultry fish, nuts, yogurt and some plant foods like vegetables, beans or quinoa. You can also modify your own holiday recipes to increase protein rich sources. Rich protein sources include fiber intake which can reduce total calorie intake to help prevent that holiday weight gain as well. 

Prioritize your favorite desserts and skip the rest

When dessert comes to mind for the holiday season it can often be everywhere you turn at holiday parties. Desserts are loaded with high amounts of sugar, fat and carb content. Those with heavy amounts of sugar consumption is a common cause to weight gain!  Instead of eating everything in sight or taste testing every desert, just focus on your favorites and ditch the rest. You can also come up with a healthier dessert options that are  lower in calorie to bring the holiday parties. Another tip for a limiting dessert intake is taking your time with consuming them, so you don’t overeat. This may leave you feeling more satisfied and less likely to overeat. 

Limit liquid calories and modify holiday beverages 

When you’re with your family and friends during the holiday season, it can be quite hard to limit your liquid calories. During the holidays, alcohol, soda, and other high calorie rich beverages such as apple cider mimosas, white Russians or cranberry margaritas can be very high in calories and carbs. These drinks can contribute to a significant amount of sugar and fat content which leaves you with empty calories to your diet which can cause additional weight gain. Additionally, just alcohol consumption itself is linked to increased appetite and an additional risk to weight gain! If you’re trying to control your weight it’s best to limit your intake of high calorie beverages and look at the nutrition facts for each drink recipe so you are more aware of how much you are consuming. You can also modify certain holiday beverages by creating them to make them lower in calorie. Here are some helpful tips to modify your beverage holiday recipes: 

·      Cinnamon can add flavor to holiday themed beverages contain

·      Use club soda or sparkling water in place of sweetened beverages

·      Flavored drinks with freshly squeezed lemon or lime rather than sugar

·      Add lemon zest to certain drinks to spice up the flavor

·      And dairy-based drinks use low fat skim or almond milk in place of heavy cream. 

 In conclusion…. 

During the holiday season, it can be easy to over-consume and we focus as human being solely on the fattening high calorie foods during those holiday parties. However, you can take control over what you can consume. Remember, holiday weight gain is not inevitable. Keep in mind, to always look at your nutrition facts on snack labels, specifically on the serving size, carbohydrates, protein, and calories. When certain macronutrients can be way off, this can enable a sudden weight gain due to improper reading of nutrition labels and facts. One tip during the holidays, is speaking to a Registered Dietitian if you want more tips and while still being healthy.

To start your sustainable weight loss journey today, check out our calorie-tracking tutorial. The first step of weight loss is being aware of how you eat and our calorie-tracking method can get you there!