Every year December seems to fly by. Between friend and family get togethers for the holidays, the weekends are booked, and many good memories are made. It is a time of the year to be grateful for the people in our lives and the opportunity to spend time together. Often these events are associated with a favorite dessert or a delicious holiday-themed drink. The food is delicious and plentiful and, come January, our tight-fitting jeans are only too happy to taunt us with memories of those delicious meals. Fortunately, here are some strategies that will allow us to enjoy those favorite foods while also keeping our waistline in check!
- Fill your stomach strategically
When our stomach is full, nerve receptors in our stomach send a message to our brain that conveys to our body that we are full. The rate at which our stomach fills up is driven by volume not calories. If you fill up your stomach with the same amount of vegetables vs. brownies, your stomach will feel equally full but the calories being processed by your body will be drastically different. Unfortunately, many of our holiday get-togethers involve calorie-dense and nutrient-poor foods. This time of year is also used by many as an allowance to indulge, giving ourselves permission to stray from our normal eating patterns. If we tell ourselves that we can’t have our favorite holiday dessert, we’re more likely to eat three of them. But if we eat strategically, we can still indulge a little while.
Foods higher in nutrient density and lower in calorie density (e.g., fruits, vegetables, beans) will fill you up and give your body the nutrients that it needs to perform its best while helping you to maintain your caloric intake levels. The issue is not how much we eat, but what we eat. When you go to a party, try to fill up your stomach first by only eating the healthy items. This would also be a great time to drink a glass or two of water. Then later, once you feel full, allow yourself to indulge on the treats that you are craving (within reason). By making yourself full on the nutrient-dense items, you will be much less likely to overindulge on the calorie-dense items, while still getting to enjoy your holiday favorites.
2) Be the turtle, not the hare
You might have heard that it takes a stomach approximately 20 minutes to feel full. While this is a good rule of thumb, it isn’t an exact science. There are a lot of factors that cause our stomachs to tell our brains when we are full. These involve things like the expansion of our stomach, our belief of how filling a particular food will be, and the hormones and enzymes that are released during the process. By eating slowly, you allow your body time to trigger the signals from your brain to the rest of your body that you are full. The result is that you will end up eating less overall, while leaving a few extra calories for that holiday treat that you crave!
Not only will slowing down the eating proocess reduce the chance of overeating, you may also feel more satisified after each meal.
Jonathan Purtell, Registered Dietician
The next time that you go to a holiday party, don’t tell yourself that you ‘can’t’. Instead, tell yourself that you ‘can’ enjoy a holiday treat or two, but try to use the strategies above first. If you do slip up and eat too many higher calorie foods, give yourself a break and just try again at the next get together.
Happy eating and happy holidays!