With the holiday season comes the three F’s; Family, Friends and Food. Now, we can’t help you control the first two F’s, but we can help you make the right choices when it comes to what to eat.
The holidays are meant to be enjoyed and it’s not what we do one or two days a year that matters for our overall health. It’s about eating well again following those days. However, if you are trying to avoid over-indulging, Gifford’s Registered Dietician, Stacy Pelletier does have some tips to share.
First, a little background on Stacy.
She’s a Brandon, VT native, and has been with Gifford since 2007. After graduating from the University of Rhode Island, Stacy decided to move back to her home state. She worked at some other places that were quite large where Stacy was, “just a number,” but that wasn’t the case at Gifford.
“Here it’s a true family. I know what’s going on with my co-workers,” Stacy said. “I loved the community feel right from the moment I saw it.”
It was Stacy’s involvement in sports that sparked her interest in nutrition, since food plays such a major role in feeling and performing well.
“What’s really fun about nutrition is it’s always evolving. People are interested in it which leads to more research, so I’m learning something every single day.”
At Gifford, Stacy works with a variety of people on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. It’s a very individualized process in which Stacy and the patient discuss plans to meet their nutrition goals, whether that’s losing weight, lowering cholesterol, or improving abdominal pain.
But what Stacy has really enjoyed, is working with the residents at our senior living facilities. She discusses with them how they can maximize their quality of life by maintaining a proper weight, keeping a high energy level and even how to make food taste better.
“I had amazing grandparents and just enjoyed that age group,” Stacy said. “They just have a lot of life experience which makes it interesting. They make me laugh and smile.”
Speaking of laughing and smiling, here are ten ways you can do the same this holiday season while enjoying those delicious meals and treats:
There can be lots of over-indulging during the holidays. Don’t stress and enjoy time with friends and family.
- Enjoy the time with friends and family- If you’re trying to lose weight, just focus on maintaining weight instead and don’t stress out.
- Use small plates or just a napkin- The less surface space you use, the less food you’ll put on it.
- Stay more than an arms reach away from the buffet table- You won’t be as tempted to keep munching.
- If you are hosting dinner, send food home with people so you don’t have a lot of leftovers- If you do have leftovers, make little meals out of them to stick in the freezer so you’re not obligated to eat it all right away.
- Bring a healthy dish to a friend’s house- You’ll know there’s at least one thing you can feel good about eating.
- Don’t skip meals, even have a healthy snack before you go- People who starve before a big meal tend to eat 2 to 3 times more than you would normally.
- Stop when you feel full.
- Bring water with you- At times we feel like we want something to eat, but instead of being hungry, you could be dehydrated. Drinking water before a meal will also help fill your stomach so you don’t eat as much.
- Anything in moderation- With pies and cakes have a small little sliver or just a couple of bites, so you don’t feel restricted.
- Make exercise a family tradition- A walk before or after the meal, for example, is so important for appetite and stress management. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to lose weight, it’s just good for your mental health and will help you sleep well.
When it comes to sleep, set a cutoff time to stop eating before heading off to bed. Eating right before bed can lead to acid reflux. Foods we eat after 7 p.m. are usually stuff we don’t need like candy, chips and ice cream.
If you’re still going into the office, there’s a good chance co-workers will bring homemade treats to share. It’s ok to say, “no thank you,” and explain why. If you do take a treat or two, don’t keep them next to your desk. Remember, out of sight, out of mind. Bringing alternatives to work like cut-up fruits and veggies will also help reduce your cravings for those baked goods.
On the topic of baking, substitutions are also a good way to keep the texture and taste of your favorite foods.
Using substitutes like bananas and apple sauce will help maintain the texture and flavor of those sweet treats
- Replace half of your oil, butter or shortening with apple sauce or mashed bananas.
- Use lower-fat cream cheese, sour cream and milk.
- Different herbs like fresh rosemary, cilantro or even Mrs. Dash spices can work as an alternative to salt. Salt substitutes contain potassium instead of sodium, so check with your doctor before using them.
Inevitably at the end of the year, people tend to make New Year’s resolutions. Stacy recommends if you do, make sure you set small, realistic goals. Try to work on changing one thing at a time. Anticipating upcoming restrictions will just lead to overeating, especially during the holidays.
Regardless of what happens this holiday season, Stacy says not to be too hard on yourself.
“Negative self-talk isn’t helpful, just get back on track the next day and learn from your past. You’re not failing, you’re just learning.”
