Healthy Through the Holidays 

It’s the night before Christmas and visions of sugarplums are dancing in your head, but what about the calories? 

Try these 10 tips to help you enjoy your family traditions and holiday favorites without sacrificing your desire to eat healthfully. 

1. Be realistic – don’t go into the holiday season trying to loose weight, you are only setting yourself up for a failure.
2. Be active and keep moving – maintaining physical activity during the busy holiday season will not only help you avoid the extra pounds, but you will sleep better and be better able to deal with additional stress.
3. Take the edge off your hunger before a party – try to eat a little something before you leave for a holiday gathering so that you’re not starving and unable to control your intake.
4. Make just one trip to the buffet.
5. Eat small, lower-calorie meals during the day so you can enjoy a special treat later – but don’t avoid eating during the day because an overly hungry stomach sabotage even the strongest willpower.
6. At sit-down meals enjoy smaller first portions – by the time you have a second helping then you’ve consumed as much as you normally would have if you’d only eat one serving.
7. Meet and greet – when you arrive at the party, don’t rush to the food.  First, greet people you know, get a beverage and settle in.  Remember your there to see friends and family members so make spending time with people most important.
8. Check out the buffet table before filling your plate – don’t waste calories on foods that you can eat everyday or on duplicate items.  Be selective about what you are going to eat and make every calorie count.
9. Keep portions small, especially when you are serving yourself from a buffet – often times a taste is all you need to satisfy a craving or decide if an item is worth a bigger portion.
10. Decide which foods hold special meaning for you, which foods you love the most and which foods you can live without.  Once you’ve decided, skip the least favorite foods and focus on smaller portions of the higher-calorie favorites.