Top 7 Ways to Enjoy Holiday Celebrations Without Overeating

During the holiday season, delicious high calorie food is everywhere. From Thanksgiving to office parties, church celebrations, and family gatherings we're bombarded with temptations. Research confirms that the more food choices and opportunities we have to eat the more we consume. All too often we eat simply because it's there.

However, there are ways to combat this tendency. Here are 7 things you can do to be prepared:

1. Make or purchase low calorie foods for celebrations when you are asked to bring a dish.

If you are asked to contribute, it is the perfect opportunity to prepare a healthy low calorie item. Make up a dish of sliced fresh fruit or veggies. Or bring a low cal tossed salad made with spinach or mixed leafy greens. By providing a low calorie healthy choice you know will have at least one food you can fill up on to limit how much you eat of higher calorie food.

2. Eat less the day before and the day after.

Do eat healthy meals and snacks the day before and after, just eat a little less. Having a slight calorie deficit on these days will allow you to indulge some on the day of a big meal or other celebration.

Skipping meals is not good for your health and can set you up for other problems. If your body experiences what it senses to be a "feast or famine" kind of situation it might respond by slowing down your metabolism. Also, allowing yourself to get overly hungry can easily set the stage for overeating later.

3. Fill up on water the day of a celebration.

You can choose to drink lots of water or other low calorie beverages to fill up and reduce the amount you eat. Or you can follow the advice of Barbara Rolls, a satiety expert and researcher with Pennsylvania State University and do even better by filling up with foods that have high water content. Foods such as broth-based soup and sliced veggies or tossed salads made with mixed greens can not only fill you up but also provide you with greater satisfaction than beverages. What may work best for you is getting plenty of water from both food and beverages.

4. Visualize in advance how you might avoid overeating.

In your mind's eye see yourself selecting healthier low calorie choices first. This might be food with high water or fiber content. Feel yourself filling up on these foods. Imagine serving yourself small portions of anything else and limiting the total amount you have on your plate. Then picture yourself choosing only one dessert or treat or maybe a small piece of two or three different treats. You sense that you are satisfied because you have selected only the best and you feel you are just about full from what you have already eaten.

5. Allow yourself to have some treats.

Depriving yourself of your favorite treats can set yourself up for overeating later. It's far better to allow yourself to have some. What matters most is keeping the portion small. If you have prepared by following some of the other suggested tips you will be less likely to overindulge.

At the same time, be aware of your "trigger" foods. These are the foods that may be very difficult to stop eating once you start. You need to decide if there are certain foods you may be better off avoiding.

6. Eat slowly and mindfully.

One of the best ways to limit what you eat is to eat slowly with complete sensory awareness of the food you are eating. Doing so gives you an opportunity to more fully enjoy your food and to get as much satisfaction from a small portion as you might get from eating a larger portion fast. It also gives your body the time it needs to register when you have eaten enough.

7. Limit how much you drink of alcoholic beverages.

Alcoholic beverages can be a significant source of calories! In addition, alcohol can depress your metabolic rate while at the same time stimulate your appetite.

Having a plan will give you an opportunity to enjoy the holidays and all the food choices that come along with it without weight gain.

For hundreds of specific tips on choosing healthy low calorie foods and snacks and how to plan your strategy for weight loss or maintenance, visit the Women and Weight Website http://www.womenandweight.com Lori Pirog, M.S., the Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Expert.

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