After scavenging the internet for the best diet tips from nutritional experts on how to stay healthy during the holidays I was pleasantly surprised to find out the average weight gained during the holiday season is only one pound however, this one pound typically is not lost and adds up year after year. So, how can we avoid gaining weight and staying healthy during the holidays?
We’ve compiled a few of the best diet tips experts had to share on staying healthy during the holidays.
5 Diet Tips to Stay Healthy During the Holidays
1. Eat what you love, leave what you like.
Good rule of thumb, choose foods that give you true enjoyment and nix the foods that don’t tantalize your taste buds!
Lindsey Joe, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist
2. Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water.
Staying hydrated will help curb your appetite and prevent mindless snacking. To ensure you are staying hydrated, drink half your body weight in water.
Ashley Pettit, Certified Holistic Nutritionist, Fitness Chef, and Personal Trainer
3. Eat a good breakfast.
Eating breakfast keeps your cortisol levels low – when your levels are high your body begins breaking down lean muscle in order to increase glucose in the body.
So, when your mom told you eating a healthy breakfast was good for you – she was right. It sets the tone for the entire day.
Kristy Del Coro, R.D., Senior Culinary Nutritionist of SPE Certified
4. Eat five small meals throughout the day
“I encourage my clients to eat at least five small meals per day in order to reach their caloric needs (e.g., 2000 calories per day divided by five is roughly 400 calories per meal). If you’re not eating Thanksgiving dinner until 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. — make sure to eat a second meal after breakfast. Not only will this keep your body’s metabolism working properly, but also it will keep your body from burning off your lean muscle mass. Not to mention, it will keep you from being so ravenous when the fat-filled side-dishes come out of the oven.”
Joseph Johnson, Owner and Personal Trainer My Joe Body
5. Keep your treats to one day a week.
Say no to leftovers. One of the biggest mistakes people make during the holidays is making a four-day feast instead of a one-day indulgence.
Erica Giovinazzo, R.D., Head Coach and Nutritionist at Brick CrossFit and BodyChange Dietitian
Do you practice any of these diet tips during the holidays? What are some of the ways you stay healthy and active during the holidays? We would love to hear about it in the comments below.
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Charles McCool says
These were just diet tips. What about exercise, sleep, flu shots, medicines, germ presentation, jet lag?
Leonardo Ramirez says
These are wonderful tips. I’ve read and tried some of these (drinking half your weight in water) and they do work. Thanks for posting!