We all know that with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, comes stress, more food, tighter schedules, and colder weather. The holiday season also brings the season of weight gain. Starting with Halloween candy, and ending with those tasty Super Bowl snacks, October through February has proven to be one of the unhealthiest times of year. Statistics have shown that during this season, people usually gain anywhere from 1-10 pounds and sometimes even more. Another problem with the holiday season, especially in upstate New York, is the freezing cold weather which deters people from going outside to exercise. 5 of the biggest contributors to overeating during the holidays are food-focused celebrations, stress, exhaustion, emotional eating, and cold weather. All of these factors, combined with lots of food, make the recipe for weight gain disaster. So when you're celebrating with your family this holiday season, focus on these three tips for limiting weight gain, practice awareness, manage stress and emotions, and plan in advance. Practice awareness, be mindful of how much you are eating, and focus on weight management instead of weight loss during the holiday season, weight loss during the busiest time of the year is not realistic, so focus on the more realistic goal of maintaining your current weight. Manage stress and emotions, instead of taking on the responsibility of preparing the whole thanksgiving dinner, try potluck style instead, it takes the stress off of everyone, and gives friends and family the satisfaction of being able to help. Plan in advance, when you know you're going to be busy plan your meals out for the week so you only have to go to the grocery store once, this will also help with maintaining your weight.
This holiday season, try and make yourself and your health a number one priority, your waistline, and your jeans will thank you in march!
While many college aged students live in dorms of in housing off campus with friends, there are the few of us who live alone or with only one other person. If you are like myself you may find that you are eating alone more often than not, which can get rather lonely and having the occasional meal out is a good moral booster and just plain old fun. However, eating out can be rough on the wallet and threaten to bust your diet wide open. A few helpful tips regarding what to eat while you’re out to dinner with your friends and how to not fill your entire days fat and calorie count in one meal are to:
-Find a meal that you may want to split with a friend; most of the times that you eat out the portions that are served are way beyond what is considered a normal or acceptable meal portion. By splitting the meal with a friend you are not only splitting the cost but you are also reducing the temptation of over eating.
-If you can’t settle on a meal to share with a friend or just don’t want to share consider splitting it with yourself. As soon as the meal arrives, immediately package half for tomorrow's lunch. While this isn’t exactly easier on the wallet it will prevent you from over eating at dinner and provide you a lunch for tomorrow. (This is one of my favorite things to do when I eat out because it allows me to be lazy the next day)
-Nonmeat meals like huge salads or stir-fry are full of fiber from veggies and whole grains. That means they tend to be lower in calories and fat than entrées such as steak or chicken (which often come with high-calorie sides like buttery mashed potatoes). As a bonus, they also tend to be a few bucks cheaper.
-Kids don't eat as much, so portion sizes are smaller. Just be sure to choose a healthy option such as pasta, a veggie and hummus sandwich, or flatbread pizza (not hot dogs or fried chicken fingers).
-Opting for water or seltzer instead of cocktails; tap water doesn't cost anything and is free of calories, but a cocktail can run you a few hundred calories. Depending on how many drinks you order while out, sipping water, tea, or seltzer can save you both on calories and money.
Sometimes we as students get stuck in a rut of eating habits, and many of times those habits are full of bad foods. As the semester starts to come to an end many of our stress levels are on the rise and we are drawn towards vending machines full of chips and candy and fast food out of convenience. What I want to show you is that it is easy to find recipes online, and create quick snacks that are full of good for you vitamins and nutrients, but can also fulfill your need for that chocolate bar.
One way to help improve your diet and still eat on a budget is to substitute your bag of chips, cookies, and candy bars for nutritional snacks and by gathering small amounts of ingredients you can create a variety of different snacks.
If you substitute your chips and dip habit for a healthy alternative of carrot sticks and humus; you can also purchase pita breads and create your own pita chips to eat with your humus. While these may seem like small changes, they can add up to life long diet changes, and prove to have beneficial benefits. (A bag of carrots and humus cost around the same cost as a can of dip, even less is you make your own humus)
Another snack substitute if you are craving a ice cream bar, you can have a frozen banana on of stick, or blend frozen fruits, and berries to create your own healthy "ice cream" (Bananas typically cost less than a package of ice cream bars, and a bag of frozen berries can cost roughly the same as a tub of ice cream, but will give you more for your buck and many more health benefits)
While these changes may seem like small pieces of your diet; and may be seem like a big deal, but by making these types of small changes you can change your health status and perhaps your lifestyle.
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