3 Simple Holiday Nutrition Tips
This month, we will focus on nutrition and health as we have just entered the “eating-holiday” season, when people often pack on a bit of weight - and why wouldn't they? It's getting cold outside, so you stay inside and watch movies instead of walking at a park or going on a bike ride, no fresh fruits or veggies are in season, and you have plenty of holidays to celebrate with family and friends - you’ve got Halloween (a candy holiday) followed by Thanksgiving (turkey and mashed potatoes, football and beer) followed by Christmas (ham, turkey, potatoes, and probably more booze) and to cap it all off, we head into the new year with New Years Eve (the most overrated “holiday” of all time in my opinion, where we drink all night and stay up late). Some or all of these holidays may also have you traveling which creates an even tougher proposition to stay on top of your nutrition and healthy behaviors and not over-indulge - but here are 3 tips that will help!
Ditch the leftovers - One of my mom’s love languages is baked goods––banana bread, pumpkin bread, and cookies––as a way to say that she loves us and wants us to enjoy ourselves. No problem, I love baked goods. The issue comes when she attempts to send me home with 4 full loaves of banana bread as I depart. I used to allow myself to leave with them, and I'm not kidding, 4 days later, they'd all be gone! I’d eat an entire loaf of banana bread because it was delicious and made with love…and there. I’ve recently been kindly refusing to take as many leftovers home with me and when I do, (surprise), I eat less because it's simply not in my possession after I leave! So if you have a relative that bakes as a way to say “I love you” or attempts to send you home with a copious amount of leftover [insert food you would like to eat less of to reach your health goals], then kindly but firmly insist that you don't leave with it.
Pack food for traveling - I love roadtrip snacks as much as the next guy, (hostess coconut donettes and jalapeno kettle chips to be exact), but when you’re going to and from relatives' houses in the next few months and fueling up on gas and gas-station snacks every couple of hours, it can be detrimental to your health goals. Instead of relying on the gas stations that have limited and “less than ideal” options - try packing some of your own foods to roadtrip with instead - fruit, beef jerky, cheeses, olives, nuts and plenty of strawberry seltzer waters in place of energy drinks or sodas. It’s admittedly not always as fun as treating yourself to gas station junk, but you'll be that much closer to your health goals and likely feel better when you reach your destination too!
Don't give up on your other healthy habits - “Keystone habits” are those habits you do that drive the completion of subsequent healthy habits during your day. For some people it’s exercise, some journaling, some drink a protein shake or have a good hearty breakfast in the morning. Keystone habits make every other decision in your day fall right in line with your goals. If you miss your early morning workout or journaling, you may not be primed and eager to make the right nutritional decision during lunch, and may find yourself having a couple of beers after work instead of taking the kids to the park to play. Do your best to keep up those keystone habits during the holidays, whatever you feel they are, so that you are more likely to carry through with your other healthy habits as well and continue compounding your investments!
I hope these tips stay in the back of your mind during the approaching holiday season where things will undoubtedly be stressful and enjoyable, somehow at the exact same time.