My Winter Network News Article

Healthy Holiday Habits

By Stephanie Wheler, Something Nutrishus Counselling & Coaching

From the Saskatoon Women's Network Newsletter, December - January 2012

For many people the holiday season means lots of family, friends, fun, and FOOD!  We can probably all easily identify a favourite or traditional holiday food that we enjoy and look forward to.  This holiday season, don’t deprive yourself of your favourites, enjoy them with my three favourite words – VARIETY, MODERATION, and BALANCE.

I love Christmas baking, our traditional Christmas morning cinnamon buns, and a turkey dinner to top it all off.  These foods can fit into your holiday festivities; it just takes some planning and preparation.  You can think about having a calorie budget for the day, so make sure you spend your calories wisely.  Many people feel that they need to deprive themselves of their favourites, but this often leads to an over-indulgence of that item later on or of other foods as we try to mask our craving.  How can you make your favourite treats fit? 

Stick to your routine

Eat regular meals and snacks to keep your blood sugar and cravings under control.  If you’re skipping meals you may end up losing control when you see a table full of food.  You can also try eating a light, healthy meal before going to a holiday event to help you have control over your choices. 

Be selective

Certain foods might only come out certain times of the year for you, so this is a good time to enjoy those treats.  Skip the familiar foods in order to keep your calorie intake in check and have room for the special foods.  Once you have what you want, make sure you remove yourself from temptation; don’t set up camp at the dessert table.

Find other ways to socialize

Start a new tradition that involves an activity such as walking, skating, skiing or a hockey game to help you burn off some of those calories, but also to get away from the house full of food.

Make the occasional swap

Choose raw veggies and dip or shrimp and cocktail sauce instead of fried appetizers.  Try club soda with lime rather that your normal soda. 

Control your portions

Often just a taste can satisfy curiosity.  If something comes in a larger portion, feel free to share it with someone, but also remember that you aren’t part of the ‘clean plate club’ and it’s okay to not finish what you took.

Be realistic with yourself and your goals.  The holiday season is only a small part of the year.  It’s important to think about the food choices you’re making between New Year’s and Christmas, not just to worry and feel guilty about the choices between Christmas and New Year’s!

Happy Eating!

Trick or Treat

Halloween is usually a time of temptation. There are so many different types of candy/chocolate in stores, and they are even starting to stock Christmas candy. The main thing to remember is portion control. The Halloween size chocolate bars can be a great way to have a small snack if you stop after one; sometimes that is all you need to fulfill a sweet craving. The problem starts when you don't stop yourself and end up eating too many. Once Halloween is over find someone to give your leftover candy to, if it's not in your house you will be less likely to eat it! I would never say you can't eat candy/chocolate, but make sure you control the amount. It's also important to remember to keep active to help burn some calories.

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar

I've been trying to understand why we love sugar so much. I definitely crave it some days and I know others do too. Some people tend to crave salty things, but a sweet tooth is quite common. I think a good way to deal with it is to make sure you eat often throughout the day so that your blood sugar doesn't get too low; that's often when you feel like a quick sugar fix. Having healthy snack ready to go is also a good idea. It can help to focus on portion control too. If you're going to have something with lots of sugar, just don't overdo it. Have a Halloween size chocolate bar in stead of a regular one, have one scoop of ice cream instead of two, you get the idea. I know I can't completely eliminate sweets because that's when I'll think about them even more. So learn to control the cravings. It's also important to look at how you are feeling emotionally. Some people eat when they're bored, sad, lonely, and so on. If that is the case, try to find other solutions than looking for cookies or a chocolate bar. You also need to be creative in how you reward yourself, get a new lipstick, a new shirt, etc. instead of overdoing it with sweets.

Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com