3 Tips for Eating Healthier During The Holidays

The holiday seasons can be both a blessing and a curse for many people. While it’s great to get together with family and friends to enjoy the festivities and celebration, it can wreak havoc on your health if you’re not careful. And because there are certain foods that many people only eat around the holidays, you may feel like you need to get in all the good food while you can. However, you could find yourself paying for this way of thinking when it’s time to get back on the health wagon. So to help make the holidays not be a trigger for your unhealthy habits, here are three tips for eating healthier during the holidays.

Only Eat What You Love

Before you head out to your annual summer BBQ or Christmas dinner party, it’s good to set a few ground rules for yourself if you want to make smarter decisions about eating. According to Charlotte Andersen, a contributor to Greatist.com, one of the best rules you can set for yourself has to do with which foods you choose to indulge in. By deciding that you’ll only eat the food that you love, not simply all the food that’s offered, you can save yourself from eating a lot of extra calories. This way, you’ll be sure to get to sample the foods you miss throughout the rest of the year and won’t feel guilt for eating food you’d rather not have.

Don’t Skip Breakfast

If you know there’s a big meal coming up for you later on in the day, some people like to either skip breakfast to save room in their bellies or to save their calorie intake. However, this strategy, though well intentioned, could actually have the opposite effect for you. According to Karen Asp, a contributor to RealSimple.com, skipping breakfast generally means you’ll have a higher chance of overindulging later on in the day. Rather than having this happen, make sure you eat breakfast and consider eating a little something every four or so hours to keep your metabolism up while still enjoying your holiday foods.

Be Mindful

Really, the most important thing you can do to ensure you don’t go overboard over the holidays is to just be mindful about what you’re eating. Especially when there’s a lot of other things going on, it can be easy for you to just eat all day and not even realize it. For this reason, Heart.org recommends paying closer attention to what you’re eating and when so you can stop if you notice that you’re getting full or if you have been eating mindlessly for an extended period of time.

If you’re nervous about upcoming holidays and how to handle all the delicious food that comes along with them, use the tips mentioned above to help you maintain control of your appetite and diet.