4 tips to help you avoid overeating during the holidays

Eat regular meals and snacks during the holidays. Picture: Pexels

Eat regular meals and snacks during the holidays. Picture: Pexels

Published Nov 30, 2022

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Who does not love holidays?

Indeed, everyone does, right? And the good news is there are only three weeks left for Christmas!

A holiday means a lot of food – big meals, desserts, chocolate and many other mouthful dishes to enjoy. But if you are expecting to maintain a healthy lifestyle, make your best to cut back on these foods at the utmost as continually eating these leads to unwanted weight gain.

There are some simple and actionable ways to survive the holiday from indulging yourself in overeating. Throughout the article, we will look at some of the most useful ones.

Eat regular meals and snacks during the holidays

You may be tempted to “save up” before you head out to a holiday party so you can eat more when you’re there.

While this approach seems logical, skipping meals before or after a party will not do you any favours.

It slows down your metabolism and if you arrive at a party starving, you will likely make poor choices on what and how much to eat.

Have portion sizes in mind

Gathering around the holiday table is similar to eating at a buffet. With a seemingly endless supply of delicious-looking food options, you’re likely to eat more than you normally would.

Sticking to healthy portion sizes keeps things in check.

Remember a serving of meat or fish is about the size of the palm of your hand, and a handful represents a serving of starchy carbohydrates.

Focus on drinking water over alcohol. Picture: Pexels

Focus on drinking water over alcohol

Having a glass of wine, beer or family-favourite spirit can be part of the get-together. And that’s okay.

However, make sure you are also having water throughout the day. Water doesn’t add calories as alcohol does. And it keeps you hydrated, which is especially important with all the high-salt foods like gravy and green bean casserole.

Minimise or skip the sides

Side dishes often have more sugar, fat and calories than the main portion of the meal, so try to focus on that turkey and minimise the maple sweet potato and green beans drowned in butter. Opt for steamed or fresh sides when possible.

Read the latest issue of IOL Health digital magazine here.