Healthy Holiday Eating

It's not easy to eat healthy during the holidays. But with a little planning and forethought, the traditionally fattening foods and eating-centered celebrations of the holiday season won't wreck your diet. Consider these six ways to eat healthy during the holidays.

1. Ditch Full-Fat Dairy

   Consuming a lot of regular dairy products ups your fat- and calorie-intake exponentially. Consider healthier substitutions in recipes whenever possible, such as replacing sour cream with plain yogurt (which can save over 150 calories per half-cup). Serving a glass of fat-free milk with Santa's cookies instead of whole milk will save the big guy about 70 calories.
   More: Holiday Baking Substitutions

2. Turkey is Tops

   The good news about healthy eating during the holidays? Turkey is one of the leanest types of meat. Stick to broiling, stewing, or baking as preparation methods; cook using a rack so the fat will drip away from the meat. (Frying turkeys may be popular these days, but doing so turns that healthy turkey into a dieting don't.) As a rule of thumb, try to always eat white meat poultry, which is leaner than dark meat (so, choose chicken breast slices over a drumstick). When selecting other types of meats, buy leaner cuts whenever possible.
   More: Make Healthy Beef Choices

3. Have a Game Plan

   Avoid the high-calorie items typically offered at holiday get-togethers, such as high-fat appetizers, processed meats (like cocktail sausages), fried foods, cream-based soups, heavy casseroles, and desserts. Plan to fill up on lighter fare, such as lean meat, grains, fruit, and veggies. Prepare and bring a healthy dish so you, and other weight-conscious guests, will have an alternative if the host's offerings aren't so diet-friendly.
   More: Six Ways Planning Pays

4. Don't Go Hungry

   Arriving at a party with a growling tummy is a surefire way to make the wrong choices and overeat without even realizing it. Never "save up" your calories during the day by not eating; it will only backfire and cause you to eat more in the end. Have a smart snack, such as a small apple with a teaspoon of peanut butter, before you leave the house. You'll still be hungry enough to enjoy the holiday foods, but not so hungry that you overdo it.
   More: Prevent Overeating at Holiday Parties

5. Fill Up with Fiber

   Not only are vegetables naturally low-fat, low-cal and chock-full of nutrients, they help you feel satisfied longer than other types of foods. The fiber will cause your stomach to feel fuller, and you will have a greater sense of satiety, which will help you stay on track. Eating raw veggies as snacks, appetizers, in salads, and side dishes is a great way to keep your appetite in check.
   More: Build a Smarter Salad

6. Forget the D-Word

   The holiday season is the most difficult time try to diet. Attempting to follow a strict eating plan when you're not truly committed can induce you to binge on the foods you have eliminated, causing you to gain weight. Focus on maintaining your weight over the holidays by controlling portions, making healthier choices, and getting regular physical activity. You can get back on track with weight loss when the diet danger zones of November and December have passed.
   More: 5 Ways to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain

Did you know? You can search the calorie content of almost any food and keep an online food diary for free with the easy-to-use tools at About.com's Calorie Count!

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8 Easy Ways to Lose Weight

Lose weight without going on a diet? It's not too good to be true. You don't have to follow a strict diet to get the ball rolling; making these easy but effective changes really can help you lose weight.

1. Learn to Read Labels

To lose weight it is essential to pay attention to food labels. Counting calories is impossible without this skill. You should know how to find a food's caloric content and its serving size. Comparing labels among different foods and beverages is crucial for making the healthier choices required to lose weight.

2. Snack Smart

You can help prevent overeating and maintain blood sugar levels by eating something about every three hours. Getting too hungry will backfire on your efforts to eat healthy and practice portion control. Aim for a healthful, satisfying snack, such as an apple and some reduced-fat cheddar cheese. Eating more may seem counterintuitive, but smart snacking will help you lose weight.

3. Eat More Grains and Produce

Whole grains and fruits and veggies do more than provide nutrients that improve your health and reduce disease-risk; they can also help you lose weight. They're naturally low in calories, so you can eat more of them and have less room in your diet for less-than-healthful foods. Plus, the fiber in whole-grain foods and produce will help you feel fuller longer (which helps you control portions and avoid overeating) and as a result, lose weight.

4. Eat Enough, Often Enough

One of the worst ways to lose weight? Meal skipping. Many people think skipping meals is a great way to cut calories, but in the end, they fail to lose weight. You'll be more likely to overeat or even binge (when you finally do eat) if you do not eat regular meals. Plus your body may go into "starvation mode" if don't eat enough, causing you to maintain (or even gain) rather than lose weight!

5. Drink Plenty of Water

Water helps you lose weight in several ways: If you tend to have a problem with "water weight," drinking more water can help alleviate bloating. Replacing high-cal drinks such as soda with water cuts hundreds of calories. You shouldn't wait until you're feeling thirsty to drink water; thirst can be mistaken for hunger, causing you to overeat. Proper hydration improves your sense of well-being, which will keep up your motivation to lose weight.

6. Get Moving

It is virtually impossible to lose weight and keep it off without exercising regularly. Start out today by taking a brisk walk or riding a bike. Work your way up from 10 minutes to 30-40 minutes a day, most days a week, and you could reap health benefits and weight loss results in a matter of weeks. Plus, exercise boosts your metabolism, making it even easier to lose weight.

7. Practice Portion Control

Measuring food may seem like a drudgery, but it will prove invaluable in your efforts to lose weight. Start out by comparing a measured standard serving of foods to your typical helping. You may find you usually consume two or even three times the recommended serving. In time you will reprogram your brain to eyeball portion sizes, a key skill for losing weight.

8. Write it Down

What's the first thing I think anyone who wants to lose weight should do? Keep a food diary. All you have to do is jot down what, when, and how much you eat in a notebook, or you can do it online at a Web site like About.com's Calorie Count. A food diary will give you a clear picture of your current eating habits so you can identify the changes you need to make to lose weight.

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Turkey Day Triumph

Thanksgiving weight gain isn't inevitable. With a few tricks, you can enjoy the meal without regretting it come Friday. Check out these ways to avoid Thanksgiving weight gain.

1. Don't Save Up

   Don't save calories from earlier meals for "the big one." You'll inevitably get too hungry and overeat to compensate for missing those meals. Thanksgiving day should include a healthy breakfast, lunch, and a small snack in the afternoon. Then, you won't be too famished to practice portion control when dinnertime arrives.

2. Make Like a Rabbit

   That is, help yourself to a veggie-filled salad or raw vegetables, such as carrots and celery, before the main meal. Doing so will curb your appetite, help you feel fuller longer, and give you something to munch while others are eating high-cal hors d'oeuvres.

3. Figure Out What's Filling

   When deciding which dishes to avoid, think filling -- the ones you eat a serving of and think, "I couldn't eat another bite," but somehow manage to anyway, such as high-fat casseroles (e.g., broccoli and cheese), cream-based soups, creamed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, and stuffing with gravy. Chances are, the more filling, the more fattening.

4. Drink Less Like a Fish

   If your family serves wine during Thanksgiving dinner, try to limit yourself to one glass. A few glasses add up to hundreds of calories. (According to Calorie Count, three glasses of white wine serve up 210 calories!) Plus, drinking can actually stimulate your appetite and make you more likely to disregard portion control and less likely to say no to the dessert table. So after one glass, swap wine for water.

5. Don't Sleep it Off

   Triptophan is a worthy adversary, but fight the urge to nap the evening away. Moving more than usual -- a game of touch football in the front yard or a marathon of shopping on Black Friday -- will help compensate for any little indulgences.

6. Eat Turkey Until You Never Want to See Another Turkey

   Leftover turkey is a healthful, lean protein source that's perfect for making diet-friendly meals. Turkey (without skin and gravy, of course) with brown rice and steamed veggies makes a low-cal, well-rounded dinner ... you can even save room for a slice of Mom's pumpkin pie.

7. Make Maintaining Your Mission

   Losing weight during the holidays is a tough proposition. Resolve instead to maintain what you've already accomplished. Trying to follow a strict diet may lead to you eventually overeat or even binge. Don't stress out over no net loss -- celebrate a lack of gain!

Get your new year's efforts to lose weight off on the right track. Sign up for our free e-mail course, Weight Loss 101!

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Emotional Eating Triggers

The first step to handling emotional eating is to identify your emotional eating triggers. We all have different reasons for emotional eating. While you may never eat when you're happy, your best friend may celebrate each small victory with a binge. My best friend clams up and subsists on water and saltines when she's depressed; I eat anything within reach when feeling blue.

Put it in Writing

By keeping a food diary, you'll be able to record how you're feeling and how much, how often, and what you eat. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a plain spiral notebook will do the trick, Simply write the date at the top of the page and then jot down what you eat and how you feel before and after.

In time, you will find that your emotional eating has a pattern. Do you overeat when you're angry? Do you splurge on an extra serving of dessert when you're frustrated?

Seeing your habits in black and white is the only way to get the true measure of your own personal emotional eating triggers.

Plan Alternatives

The only way to put this record to use effectively is to plan alternative activities to eating so you'll have another option the next time the situation and/or feelings arise in your life.

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Get Strong!

The Next Level
When you feel it's time to kick it up a notch, head over the your neighborhood's second-hand fitness equipment store where you're sure to find resistance bands and light-weight dumb bells (you may find you prefer bands to dumb bells so you don't have to purchase both). Some resistance band sets even come with videos that provide step-by-step instructions on using them. You can also find books at your library with simple dumb bell exercises, as well as helpful articles and videos at the About.com exercise Guide site and the walking Gudie site.

Movin' on Up!
Ready to go big time? Make an appointment at the gym or the Y for a tour and strength training consultation with a personal trainer. Be sure a trainer takes the time to show you how to use each machine. Take the opportunity to ask any questions you may have. You also need to know what weight level to start out at. You don't want to ruin any progress you've made by lifting too much, too soon, or by using the machine incorrectly or unsafely, which can lead to an injury.

How Much is Enough?
Just a couple days per week could do the trick: A 2001 study at the University of Arkansas showed that research subjects who strength trained two days per week reaped the same benefits as those who pumped iron three days a week. The twice-a-week study subjects did the same exercises as the other group, but they did the exercises for an extra five minutes. At the study's close, both groups has comparable increases in strength and flexibility, as well as similar amounts of body fat reduced and weight lost.

It is recommended that you skip a day between strength training sessions to give your muscles a rest. For example, you could do strength training only on Monday and Wednesday or just Tuesday and Thursday and be getting enough workouts to see results.

The Bottom Line
Ready to get started? Follow your cardio workout with some strength training every other day and you should see visible results in a matter of weeks! Don't panic if the scale shows a little bit of a gain when you weigh in; since muscle weighs more than fat, the number may go up, but you'll get proof it's working: Your clothes will fit more loosely because of the overall toning strength training provides.

The About.com exercise Guide provides an excellent article on strength training for beginners, so be sure to check it out. Please consult your doctor before starting -- or significanlty changing -- an exercise program, particularly if you have been sedentary or have health problems.

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Ways to Prevent Holiday Weight

Holiday weight gain seems guaranteed, but the fact is, the holiday season doesn't mean your scale will become your worst enemy! Here are some easy ways to prevent holiday weight gain.

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If I have one mantra for the holiday season, it would have to be: All things in moderation. Keep your serving sizes in check at all times and you really can enjoy your favorite holiday treats without gaining weight.

More: 10 Portion Control Tips

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Stay active during the holidays and those extra pounds won't creep up on you. A 30-minute brisk walk most days of the week can do wonders for maintaining your waistline. Get outside if the weather permits or hit the mall before it opens for a workout while window-shopping.

More: How to Begin a Walking Program

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Try some new ways to make your holiday meals healthier. Small changes can add up to a big difference. This can be as simple as serving steamed vegetables instead of casseroles or removing skin from the turkey. Just choosing fruit instead of a desserts can save hundreds of calories.

More: 10 Tips for a Healthier Meal

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Food cravings are a part of life, but they can be especially daunting during the holidays. You seem to smell or see tempting food nearly everywhere you go. If you can't avoid food cravings, the best way to fight back is to be prepared with a plan for an alternative activity to eating.

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The worst thing you can do when it comes to weight management during the holidays? Give into all-or-nothing thinking and keep making bad choices once you've made a mistake or two. Never throw in the towel just because of a few slip-ups!

More: Banish All-or-Nothing Thinking

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