Here we go into the ‘holiday season’. Seems a little early to think about that, doesn’t it? For your weight loss, or even weight maintenance, journey to progress, you need to do some planning now. Remember the ‘M’ in Magic Help? Meal Plan. Your Holiday plan will have to include more than meals.
If we have a plan will we ’slip’ during the holidays – probably. But without a meal plan, we will slip right out of our journey, not just an occasional ’slip’ that can be offset by more activity/less eating. If you go on a trip, you map out the roads you take, the places you will stay, and the sites you will see. If you don’t plan, you are liable to spend the whole trip getting lost and trying to find the right road.
What plans can we make? Holidays usually means shopping. Eat before you leave to shop. Take your fresh veggies to snack on. Drink water instead of the sugary fatty holiday drinks. Remember to eat a smaller amount every few hours rather than shopping several hours, then binging on a large meal.
As for the family dinners and potlucks, there are lots of recipes for low fat and sugar free foods. Last Thanksgiving I made my MIL cranberry relish/salid with fresh cranberries, fresh orange, fresh apple – ground them up, and used granulated sugar substitute for the 3 cups of sugar. It was delicious, nutritious, and sugar free.
When fixing the turkey and gravy, we used fat free chicken broth. With plenty of raw veggies on the tray and fat free ranch dressing for a dip, snacks were great. One tray had fat free sour cream mixed with dry Italian dressing mix for a great tasting dip. Cooked vegetables were low-fat, such as using artificial bacon bits in the green beans for the bacon taste. Having baked sweat potatoes without the sugar and marsh-mellows cuts down the calories.
What about Grandma’s pumpkin pie, apple pie, and pecan pie? Hey, we all have some special dish or desert which makes the day. If Grandma doesn’t cook with low fat and artificial sugar, that’s just a fact of life. So, have a piece – make it a smaller piece or cut it in half. And remember what we said in Diet - a Series of Choices - you don’t have to NEVER have that special dish, just not often and try to offset it with exercise/activity.
With all this attention to the ingredients, don’t forget portion control. Take a smaller plate, put your meat on one third the plate, your veggies on another third, and a starch such as potatoes or bread on the other third. That doesn’t mean pile it sky high now. Have a small piece of desert. Drink water or plain ice tea. Since you have been on your weight loss journey, you will find the smaller portions more satisfying.
AHH – I almost forgot. NO TASTING THE FOOD WHILE COOKING OR SERVING. If you have to much, get into the raw veggie tray.
So let’s have fun the next few months, staying aware of our journey and our goals. Wear your MAGIC HELP touchstones, or carry them in your pocket, to remind you of your eating and activity/exercise plan.
Leave a comment with your holiday helps and/or recipes.
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