1. Eat smaller meals throughout the day instead of eating nothing before the feast.
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No one can restrain themselves when they have hardly eaten all day and arrive to a party with delicious holiday dishes. Eating smaller, more frequent meals may enhance your metabolic activity, and you’ll be less likely to binge eat because you aren’t starving yourself throughout the day.
2. Don’t eat with your eyes.
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We know this is hard. Most holiday parties have their food set up on long tables with a self-serve spoon calling our names. Despite how good everything looks, remember how much you normally eat and try to serve yourself around that amount. It’s ok to treat yourself (most health experts actually encourage it), but it’s important to not over eat. If you want to try everything that is at the party, serve a plate with a little bit of everything. Don’t pile your plate with big scoops of everything because you’ll probably eat way too much, or you’re probably not going to finish it and throw food away.
3. Try new food instead of piling food you normally eat on your plate.
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If there are a bunch of options, try eating the options that you hardly eat instead of eating the normal bread and cookie options. Try a new dessert, or try that special casserole someone brought in. The holiday season is the perfect time to try new things.
4. Bring a healthy dish to holiday parties.
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A lot of times people just bring unhealthy and high-fat dishes for holiday parties. Although these dishes are no doubt delicious, many of them are filled with carbs and no other nutritional value. If you’re feeling health conscious, think about going through Pinterest for a healthy alternative. Chances are the crowd will be pleased with such a colorful option. Check out this recipe for honey roasted butternut squash with cranberries and feta.
5. Beware of liquid calories, especially alcohol!
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A lot of people don’t think about how many calories (not to mention sugar) is in the drinks that they consume during the holiday season. So while you are indulging in the delicious assortment of sweet pies, remember to slow down on those sugary drinks. Check out this video to see how much sugar our favorite drinks have.
6. Slow down when you’re eating.
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Most of us get so excited when we serve ourselves at holiday parties that when it comes to eating what we served on our plate, we finish our plates within seconds. This is a bad move because according to Kathleen M. Zelman, director of nutrition for WebMD, it takes about 20 minutes from the time you start eating for your brain to send out signals telling you that you’re full. If you eat slowly, you’ll give your brain time to realize that you’re full and you’ll eat a whole lot less! Another plus of eating slowly is that you’ll actually enjoy the flavor, texture, and smell of your food a lot more than if you rush.
7. Dance A LOT.
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Ok, so we know that we’re probably going to try all the desserts, and eat too much. Going to all these holiday parties, however, is the perfect time to dance it off. Get your family and friends together and “shake it off”.
8. Speaking of dancing, stay active!
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The biggest mistake people make during the holiday season is stopping being active. Just because it’s the holidays, that doesn’t mean that you should stop that morning run or hour at the gym. Grab a couple of friends and stay motivated this holiday season. If you work out before the big festivities, the food you eat will actually help transform sugars to your depleted muscles. Metabolism is heightened after a hard workout, and you’ll burn the holiday feast more instead of gaining weight from the extra calorie intake your body isn’t used to.
Enjoy this holiday season, Collegiettes, but remember to stick to your healthy lifestyle!