Long Island Beauty Magazine recently sat down with Nutrish Mish and asked the best ways to keep healthy during the holidays. Here are the dos and don't from Nutrish Mish:
Check out the article here: here
As published in the New England Journal of Medicine, People gain weight during the holiday season, that’s crazy! Believe it or not, most of our clients lose weight during the holiday season and still enjoy themselves. These are the Nutrish Mish insider tips to keep the sugar plums dancing in your head, and not on your hips!
Challenge One: The Cocktail Party
The Day Of
Do NOT “save your calories” in anticipation of the party. Your metabolism works much like a fireplace, when you throw sticks and twigs on a fire, it burns strong. If I don’t add sticks or twigs to the fire, it burns out. Not eating all day will slow your metabolism to a snails pace, and then you will be hungry. Like really hungry. Your blood sugar will be low, so you will be very likely to crave carbs and sugar, and you will over eat on a slow metabolism.
Do: Eat small and frequently. If your schedule permits, eat small and frequent meals. This will ensure your metabolism is revved up, and you won’t be hungry
The Party
Scope out what is available when you get there. The best appetizers will be shrimp cocktail, crudités, cheese. These will be higher in protein, which will fill you up quicker. Avoid appetizers that are too carb heavy. Choose your cocktail wisely. Holiday themed cocktails can be packed with sugar leaving you with extra pounds, and a brutal headache. Here are some better choices, glass of wine (120 calories), vodka club (70 calories), vodka club with a splash of cranberry (110 calories), light beer (120 calories).
The Next Day
Get right back to it! Eat cleaner foods lots of lean protein, fruits, and veggies. You can go a little lighter on the carbohydrates to help compensate. Also, drink a lot of water! Catered food plus alcohol equals some serious water retention. The fastest way to get rid of it is to drink extra the next day, which will help flush it out of your system.
Challenge 2: Your Office
People love to say thank you this time of year with baskets of cookies and candy galore. Navigate your office without a sugar rush by following these tips:
Change the Office Culture- When we do corporate wellness programs at Nutrish Mish, the first thing we establish is no junk in the office. We encourage vendors to bring fruit baskets or flowers. If it is possible, make a company pact that there will be no junk in the office this holiday season.
Bring Smart Food to Work- This means bring a lunch you will love, and a snack high in protein. When you are unsatisfied with a meal, you are more likely to look for other food options. Try bringing leftovers instead of the plain-jane salad you have everyday. Around that 3:00 time, have a high protein snack. At 3:00 your blood sugar will get low, and your body will crave sugar. Protein will help stabilize that, giving you more control.
If You Have to Have Something:-
Have it at the end of the day. If you start indulging during the day, you might keep going back for more. If something looks really good, eat it as you are walking out of the door. That way, you are removed from the situation and can’t go back for more!
Challenge 3: The Holiday
People ask me what I eat on a holiday, and my answer? Whatever I want! A holiday is an appropriate time to indulge, but once the day is over, that is it! That is not a personal challenge to try to eat as much as humanly possible in a day, but loosening the reins for a day won’t do any harm. Allowing yourself to indulge and then get right back on track is an important skill to master. So enjoy yourself the day of, but after, get the leftover cookies and desserts out of the house. They are not nutritious, and the party is over so they no longer serve a purpose.
The holidays will provide you with many eating challenges, but embrace them! Learning to stay healthy during the majority of the month might not be easy, but it will make January a breeze!