Nutrition Tip
Tis the Eating Season
By: Kelly Moore, RD, LDN
With the changing colors of the leaves, the chill in the air, and the apple harvest at its peak we all know what is coming. There will be parties, trick or treater’s, football madness, holiday traditions, time-consuming shopping, and of course the joys and challenges of holiday eating. Food plays an important role in our celebrations and festivities, in fact most special occasions are planned around food. As a result, you may feel stressed thinking about the future with tempting treats, the possibility of emotional eating, or the pressure from friends and family to overeat.
The big challenge is balancing all the fun at special occasions without jeopardizing your weight loss journey. Below are some tips to guide you through the next few months.
1. Plan Ahead. When eating out think about where you will be dining. Ask about the menu ahead of time and also consider who will be with you. Think about what foods you really want to enjoy vs. those that you can live without. Consider bringing a healthy dish that you know you can eat and enjoy. Definitely don’t go to an event on an empty stomach as this often leads to unplanned and quick high calorie eating. Try eating a light snack to help curb your appetite. Lastly, know your eating triggers. Once you’ve thought through a social eating situation it will be much easier to deal with the event and enjoy your company.
2. Stay Active. Activity, especially aerobic exercise can help relieve stress and burn a few extra calories. Measure your steps with a pedometer while holiday shopping. Look for seasonal ways to get active and possibly create a healthy family tradition. Take the family to the White Mountains for a hike and leaf peeping, go ice skating on the Frog Pond in the Boston Common, or try sledding in your own back yard.
3. Reduce and replace some of the high calorie ingredients, such as butter, cream, sugar and salt, from your holiday recipes. Take a look at your recipes, find the indulging ingredients, and then ask “can I leave it out?"
Consider this…
- Replace butter with unsaturated oils such as olive, canola and soybean oil.
- Start with less fat, sugar and salt than called for, then adjust for taste.
- Make the most of herbs, spices, lemons or minced tangy vegetables -- onion, garlic, parsnip, parsley -- instead of salt and butter.
- Serve a plate of fresh fruit verses a bread basket. If a bread basket is desired, use multigrain rolls or bread to increase fiber.
- Base appetizers on fresh or roasted vegetables, fruits, lean meats, and low-fat cheeses.
- Skip the cream-based soups, sauces and gravies and choose vegetable-based soups and sauces instead.
- Serve a festive salad, filled with shredded greens & carrots, roasted red pepper, thin sliced English cucumber, mandarin oranges and slivered almonds. Leave salad dressing on the side to limit fat content.
- For baked goods such as cakes and cookies, substitute applesauce or other fruit purees for butter or oil. Cut back on sugar by one-half or more.
4. Know your supporters. Boredom, social discomfort, anger, and peer pressure can all cause unplanned eating. Confront the fact that certain people may, knowingly or unknowingly, encourage you to eat. Decide before the event how you are going to deal with your saboteurs. Ask for help from your supporters. Share your commitment to health with others and politely turn down the pressure. Be proud of yourself and your WLS journey!
