Ten Top Tips for Keeping Trim Over the Holidays – Toronto Nutritionist

The holiday season is a great time of year. The stores are abuzz with people. Beautiful lights, trees and decorations abound.

Meeting old friends and getting together and sharing a meal are what this season is all about.   And that adds up to lots of parties and lots of food. They say the average person gains between five to seven pounds over the holidays, but that doesn’t have to be you!

How would you like to sail through the holidays without the extra worry and without the anxiety of having to watch what you eat? We know that everything in life is about balance. Developing some of these new habits will ensure that this holiday won’t leave you bloated and sorry that you had too many glasses of eggnog.

Here are my TEN TOP TIPS to have the merriest, healthiest season ever…without dieting!

1) You have heard it before, but drinking water is essential for maintaining a healthy weight. Water fills you up, curbs your appetite and clears toxins out of your body. Salty foods, eaten as a main staple at this time of year will cause your body to retain water. To determine the quantity of water you need: take your body weight, divide that number in half and convert to ounces. That is how much water your need to drink each day. For example, a 150 lb. person requires 75 ounces of water or 9 eight ounce glasses.

2) You’re at the party and there are so many appetizers to choose from. What to do? First, never go to a party with a voracious appetite. You’ll wind up eating all those little pastries filled with a lot of calories. Before you leave the house, eat some lean protein and you will easily avoid consuming all those tasty treats. I like to have some chicken, fish, or some almonds before I leave my home. Protein makes you feel satisfied very quickly. Avoid low fat foods. They are not filling and won’t make you feel satisfied.

3) If you are starving when you get to the party, go straight to the veggie table. Load up on those colourful veggies; there loaded with fibre and you’ll feel full fast, not to mention that they contain so many health giving properties.

4) Avoid all the white and beige foods:  Beige foods are trouble for anyone wanting to keep weight off. Those are the foods containing the high caloric calories. Instead eat 3 fruits and 7 veggies throughout your day. You will feel full and satisfied.

5) Start your day with a half a lemon squeezed in a glass of water. This gives you a hit of vitamin C, is detoxifying, and alkalizing. The more you drink, the healthier you will feel. The healthier you feel; the better food choices you make.

6) Have a BIG salad at lunch, topped with lots of protein. When dinner time comes around, you naturally won’t want to eat as much

7) If your indulging in alcohol, have one glass of water between each drink and you will drink less. Diet pop can actually cause you to gain weight, so avoid it and have some nice bubbly water

8) Start your day with a shake. Combine.2 tbsp. of ground flax seeds, 2 tbsp. of flax oil, a banana, half cup of berries and some protein powder and water in your blender. You will feel full and it will keep your bowels moving, an important element in weight loss.

9) Take a digestive enzyme at each meal and you won’t feel bloated and won’t suffer from gas. Enzymes help break your food down so your stomach doesn’t have to work as hard.

10) YES it is still really important to exercise every day.  Exercise keeps your metabolism humming and helps to burn those extra calories. My favorite is Hot Yoga because it aides in detoxification, and can burn upwards of 1200 calories in one class. You will feel fantastic!! Even a one hour walk a day is perfect.

Have a happy, healthy holiday season. Wishing you and your family health and happiness!

Jane Durst Pulkys BSc., CNP., RNCP
Holistic Nutritionist