5 Tips for Eating Well and Staying Slim Over the Holidays

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

It’s easy to expect a few pounds to be added every holiday season. Most people gain an average of 5-8 extra pounds over the holidays. I prefer to indulge a bit, but not so much that I trade indulgence now for deprivation later! For me, gaining 2-3lbs is my sweet spot for holiday indulging. That easily disappears in a week or so. Here are some tried and tested strategies for creating a healthy eating framework:

1. Pre-Decide Your Meals

Start by deciding what and how much you are going to eat the next day. When you pre-decide your meals and portions, you are protecting yourself from emotional or habitual eating that doesn’t serve you physically or emotionally. Know what you need and enjoy your meals slowly and mindfully.

2. Eat Meals Rather Than Grazing

A good rule of thumb is 2-3 meals per day in an 8-12 hour eating window. This allows the digestive system time to rest and repair. Snacking all day sets you up for a blood sugar roller coaster (unless you have a medical condition and have been advised to eat on a more frequent schedule). Eating several satisfying meals per day is an important pause to rest and enjoy the moment rather than mindlessly grazing on food throughout the day/night.

3. Consume Plenty of Nutrient Dense Produce

Aim to eat 1/3 of your volume as raw fruits/veggies. Berries at breakfast, sliced veggies with lunch, and salad with dinner are examples of how to do this.

Add another 1/3 of your volume as cooked veggies. This could be greens stirred into your morning eggs, a bowl of veggie soup at lunch, and a stir fry at dinner.

If you eat 2/3 of your meals as produce, you will be in an alkaline dominant diet and your body will receive optimal nutrients levels, eliminate wastes efficiently, and you will feel full with the fiber content.

4. Curate Your Fat Consumption

Have quality fat with each meal. Some of the best choices are:

• Avocado
• Nuts and seeds
  • The nutrients are most easily absorbed and easily digested if these have been soaked and dehydrated. Organic nuts and seeds that have been optimized in this way can be purchased from WildlyOrganic.com. My favorites from this website are the Brazil nuts, Pecans, Walnuts, and Sunflower seeds. I like to have a mix of these available in my purse, in the car, etc. At a minimum, check the packaging information to make sure that your nuts and seeds haven’t been cooked in one of the inflammatory oils (see below) or have added salt (unless it’s pink/sea salt).
• Pasture Raised Butter
• Extra Virgin olive oil, avocado oil, sesame oil, and coconut oil are all good choices.
  • Buy these oils in glass (never plastic) containers that are dark green or black so that the light doesn’t damage the fat. Be very careful not to ingest rancid nuts/seeds or oils. Rid your diet and purge from your pantry and fridge any of these inflammatory oils: Peanut, canola, corn, cottonseed, safflower, sunflower, and soy oil. Unfortunately, they are cheap and ubiquitous in nearly all packaged cookies, crackers, salad dressings, and chips. They rapidly age you by increasing inflammation and damaging your cells. I first learned about this 20 years ago from a Harvard professor and over the past 10 years, the research is flooding in backing the original assertion about these oils. Many people experience dramatic improvement in skin conditions, like eczema, from removing the 6 damaging oils above and replacing them with the more salubrious forms of fat suggested above.

5. Have Protein With Each Meal.

Be picky about your sources. Choose pasture raised eggs and chicken, wild-caught fish, and pasture raised meats. Fresh nuts and seeds are awesome (if you are a woman of childbearing age look into Seed Cycling to optimize you hormonal health). Lentils, beans, and whole grains can also be consumed for protein. You are what you eat. High quality foods create healthy cells. Observe and feel into your body’s indicators (your hair and nail quality & energy levels are revealing in this manner) and experiment to see how much protein you do best with right now. Our body’s needs change over time. Be flexible to change your protein sources and amounts based on your needs now-vs-others theories or your past patterns.

Learn to read your body and develop a good “listening” relationship to your inner guidance. As you progress from a top down approach of trying to control your body, to a loving partnership of sensing and responding to your body, you will be guided to new approaches that balance and optimize your well being.

When we lovingly care for ourselves through our dietary choices, we naturally reach and maintain our healthiest weight and best health.

Wishing you a delicious and balanced holiday season!