Holiday Eating
By Kristin Penner
Have you ever wondered where all the extra pounds come from during the holidays?
With Holiday festivities comes lots of food and gatherings with family and friends. Here are some interesting research findings on holiday eating.
Between the wine, mixed nuts, multiple helpings of turkey and sides, pie, cheese and alcohol, the festivities on Thanksgiving and Christmas day alone can add up to more than 7,000 calories per person. Here are a few things that contribute to calories.
- Each guest in attendance adds 35 calories to your own food intake. This can be from the food they bring to the social eating or drinking you do while visiting with them.
- Do you enjoy holiday music? Those festive tunes can add 100 calories to your
food intake.
- It’s game time! Eating during the game adds another 140 calories.
It all adds up so skipping meals prior to the big feast will
only make you eat more.
Want to try to ward off the pounds before they add up? Try these tricks to minimize over-eating.
- Slow down! Put your fork down between bites.
- Nibble on holiday treats along with low-calorie foods like fruits and vegetables
- Don’t feel obligated to eat every food. Save room for the special treats and avoid mundane foods.
- Planning the menu? Fill half of the menu with low-calorie fruit and
vegetable dishes.
After eating, go take a walk! That will help burn off those extra bites.
Don’t set yourself up for failure by trying to lose weight over the holidays, be realistic.
Leftovers
- Always remember food safety. Keep hot food hot and cold food cold.
- Food left out over two hours should be discarded. This includes turkey
If you try your hardest and don’t succeed with these few tricks always remember there are New Year resolutions to help us, get that weight back off.
