Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

You have worked so hard to lose weight and now the holidays are upon us. You want to enjoy the holidays but you do not want to gain back a single pound. Usually you find yourself loosening your belt before dessert is served. Do not be too hard on yourself because you are not the only person in the “loosening your belt club”. It is easy for us to tell ourselves to enjoy every meal and start back on a weight loss program January 2nd. Let’s look at a few ways to avoid gaining weight while enjoying the holidays.

 

Think about this; the average American consumes over 3,000 calories with Thanksgiving dinner. No one wants to diet on “turkey day”. So what can we do to keep our resolve to eat healthy from going downhill and our weight from creeping back up while we enjoy the holiday meals? Anyone who has worked hard to lose weight knows what you are facing. But there are ways to indulge in every course of the Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other holiday dinners without breaking the limit of calories you have set for yourself each day.

 

First go for light, white meat. Turkey breast is super lean and a great source of iron, zinc, potassium, and B vitamins. If you need to cook the whole bird and not just the breast fight the temptation to eat the drumstick. It is important that you roast or bake the turkey. Do not even think about using a deep fryer for the bird.

 

You do not have to give up the gravy if you use low-fat, low-sodium broth and not the drippings from the roasting pan. If you must use4 the drippings stick them in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Chilling the drippings will make it easier to skim off the fat before making the gravy.

Use whole grains for your stuffing. The stuffing should be baked separately rather than stuffed in the turkey. By baking the stuffing the grease from the bird is not soaked into the stuffing. Try using a whole grain mixture instead of white bread crumbs to make the stuffing. You can also go for a nutty flavor by using quinoa, rice pilaf, or a bulgur stuffing with dried cranberries and hazelnuts. While this will not save you any calories it will add antioxidant, fiber, iron, magnesium, selenium, B vitamins, and hopeful a lot of compliments.

 

While green bean casserole is sometimes considered a must for a holiday meal you can cut calories in half by boiling fresh beans and seasoning them with olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. You will find the flavor to be very good and you will gain fiber, protein, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, K and B6. This may even become one of your favorite ways to add a touch of green to your meals.

 

Skip the canned cranberry sauces (they contain a large amount of added sugar) and go for fresh or dried cranberries.

If you must have potatoes look for recipes for mashed potatoes that are savory but contain less fat and calories than traditional mashed potatoes. If you decide on potato salad be sure to use low fat mayo and limit yourself to a small serving.

 

So often we forget to watch for calories in liquids. You can enjoy a white wine spritzer by mixing a glass of white wine with bubbly water. You can save about 120 calories if you forgo the wine and drink water.

 

If you want to enjoy a slice of pie you can trim more than 100 calories and 7 grams of fat by forgoing the crust.

 

Do not waste time and add more pounds by waiting for the holidays to be over to get started on your weight loss program. Call Weigh to Wellness today. Not only can you avoid the post holiday depression of having gained weight you can get healthy, tasty recipe for your holiday cooking. Weigh to Wellness can help you plan how to avoid gaining weight while enjoying Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.

 

Call today: 205-994-2393