Fighting the battle of the bulge during the holiday season isn’t easy, but itdoesn’t have to feel hopeless. This season, use a little forethought in your planning to have a great celebration without packing on the pounds. Here are a few tips to get started.
Portion Control is Key
Plan your portions. Rather than just heaping anything and everything that looks good onto your plate, take two minutes to create a little pre-meal mental checklist. Decide what you want or need out of your meal before you serve yourself. Have you gotten enough protein today? Are you already at your limit for sweets? Have you had enough fruits and vegetables? Then build your plate based on how you answered your daily checklist questions.
Understand that food is food, and not a reward or just a comfort item. Yes, food tastes good, and yes, being full feels good. But at its core, food is just fuel for our bodies. You wouldn’t keep pumping gas at the pump when your tank was full, would you? According to Intermountain HCG, if you’re taking hcg oral drops to control your weight, this rule is especially important. It’s going to take some portion control on your side to keep your weight where you want it. Keeping this reality in mind instead of issuing yourself a free pass because it’s the holiday season, will go a long way to maintaining the weight you want to see next June.
Does this mean you should deprive yourself of a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream? Of course not! It does mean you should deprive yourself of eating a huge slice of pumpkin pie with tons of whipped cream multiple times a week from November through January.
Sample Everything Guilt-Free
A fantastic way to keep the weight off this winter is to just fill up on the healthy stuff first. You can sample everything available only after a full serving of salad, and a full serving of vegetables or fruit. Treat the rest of your meal as small tastes rather than a full plate. You’ll be surprised to find you’re satisfied after only a few minutes, you got to enjoy your favorite flavors, but you’re not stuffed and bloated. This approach directly translates into the numbers you see on the scale and the way your pants fit. It’s a way of looking at food that you can rely on all year through.
If, during the holidays, you’re worried you can’t control how much healthy food will be served at functions you attend, bring your own. In addition to whatever you may be asked to bring, no one is going to balk if you turn up with an extra veggie side or salad mix for the gang!
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