Healthy Holiday Eating
Merry Christmas Men’s Variety readers! It’s that time of year. The attack on your wallet and your gullet. The holiday season is a beautiful time when people get together with their families and friends. We laugh our time away, share gifts, and share precious moments. Unfortunately, we also spend heaps of money on each other and consume heaps of calories. Frankly, the holiday season can be a SUPER unhealthy time for us men.
To help you out this dangerous holiday season, here are seven tips for healthy eating during the holidays.
1. Make Room For Veggies
First, you have to have the right mindset with you get ready to make your plate. When making a plate for dinner or dessert, you MUST make room for veggies. Whether they are greens, corn, or whatever else your family has cooked up, you have to have a healthy helping of it. This is to keep your body as healthy as possible during this season of indulgence. Otherwise, you’ll be loading on up carbs, meats, and sugar. Now, you know that’s not healthy 11 months out of the year. So why let it slide on the 12th?
2. Plate Smart
Next, you HAVE to be smart when deciding what to eat. Don’t overstock on the mac and cheese. Make sure to balance out your plate with meats, veggies, and other foods. It’s important to your health.
In addition, don’t load up on a giant plate the first time. That’s a major mistake. Instead, make a smaller plate. And if you really must, then you’ll have room for a second small plate of food.
That said, don’t be a fool. If you know that little cousin is gonna take up all the dark meat turkey, make sure to get yourself some. Don’t go crazy though. You don’t want to be like Little Jimmy.
3. Take Breaks
And if you do decide to get a second plate (or a third), make sure to take a break between the plates.
It’s important to listen to your body. If you are full, don’t feed it more! Take a second between each plate to listen to your body. If the gauge is full, then you don’t need any more gas. In fact, take a second between each bite too. Be really invested in what your body’s telling you. The plate can wait. (In fact, use that as an opportunity to bring leftovers home!).
4. Drink Plenty Of Water
But don’t forget the liquids. Yes, the solids are all great and delicious, but the liquids are the real silent villain. Make sure to take the time and drink as much as you can. But what should you be drinking? WATER! It’s weird that we’ve let soda, juice, and sugar companies sell us away from a universal truth. We all need to drink as much water as possible. Yet, we always jump for the taste of unhealthy drinks. Choose health first, and choose water.
Even better, make sure to drink a lot if you plan to get a little drunk this holiday season. Wine is great when dealing with family, but the hangover is not worth it. Drink a glass or two of water between each glass of alcohol. And remember, never drink and drive!
5. Physical Activities
Know another way to get your body moving and the food/drink stabilizing in your body? Physical activities! We know, many of you probably just groaned right now. And that’s ok. But also know that activities don’t have to be boring or draining like exercise.
A physical activity can be fun. For instance, turn up the music and get dancing somewhere. Turn the living room into a dance floor. That will get your heart beating and your body moving. Or, toss a ball around and play some tag football. That will really get you into the holiday spirit! Just make sure to bundle up!
6. Shop Smart
But what can you do beforehand to prepare yourself for holiday eating? Well, for those poor souls who haven’t finished buying their Christmas dinners… good luck! Jokes aside, it is important to go in smart. Make a list for yourself and stick to it. That way, you won’t spend more money than what you spent on presents.
Even better, make sure to buy your food early next year. We’re talking a good few days ahead. Get ahead of the holiday crunch. Then, you can even start cooking early. Your sanity will thank you later.
7. Don’t Shop Hungry
And the most important aspect of the shopping crunch, so important it deserved its own number, is to shop while full. DO NOT shop while you are hungry. You’ll find yourself buying food you did not need. Your wallet will be emptier and so will your pride. It’s just smarter to go to the grocery store when you’re not hungry.
Eating Right
That’s it for our tips and tricks for eating this holiday season. Is there anything we forgot? What advice would you give other men about eating healthy this holiday season? Let us know down in the comments below.
