Eating Healthy for Life

For many of us the holiday period is the time we dread the most when it comes to eating healthily and yet enjoy ourselves at the same time.  But hopefully armed with the information below you should be able to ensure that you are healthy eating during holiday periods without having to think you need to forgoe some of your favorite foods.

One important thing you should look at during the holiday period is your eating habits and change them where ever possible by carrying out some or all of the following suggestions.

1.  Eat between 5 to 6 small meals each day rather than the usual 3 as frequent eating helps to control blood sugar and also curbs your appetite.

2.  When going out anywhere eat a light healthy meal a few hours before going to the party and you will find that you are able to control your intake as you won’t feel as hungry when you are at it.  It is best if you eat foods that are high in protein such as chicken or cottage cheese as they will help you to eat less. 

3.  Eat slowly and listen to your hunger cues.  If you are not hungry then pass on the second helpings that you are offered.

4.  During the holiday period it is important that you do not let your children eat whatever they want especially limit the number of sodas that they drink.  What you need to remember is soda has little or no nutritional value and is loaded both with caffeine and sweeteners.  Not only can these make your child hyper but also weight gain is not just an adult issue over the holiday period so make sure that your child enjoys themself without gaining those extra pounds.

5.  If you happen to be hosting a holiday event then do your guests a favor by including non alcoholic drinks on the menu as well as healthier items such as vegetables, salads and fruit etc.  Where you can use either low calorie or fat free salad dressings as well.  Plus put these items out before you produce the meats etc., and then everyone has a better chance of not overdoing it with the high fat, high calorie menu choices.

6.  Finally look for healthy substitutes for ingredients that you use when whipping up your favorite holiday fare and use either low fat or skimmed milk products instead of whole milk in some dishes.  By switching ingredients you can create much tastier results without the high calories that are often associated with rich foods.

So as you can see there are plenty of methods for healthy eating during holiday periods.  So why not look at some of your recipes today and see which ones can be changed using alternative low fat, low calorie substitutes instead.