Avoiding Weight Gain with Big Family Meals – 4 tips for a Cheat meal

Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain 

Big Family Meals don’t have to be a source of Anxiety when it comes to keeping your weight loss Goals. There are simple things you can do to optimize your situation so that you don’t derail all the progress you have made in your fitness aspirations.

Here ar my Top Tips to my clients on how to handle the Big Family meals that happen this time of the year.

1. Plan a Workout or some Activity to keep you active and moving the day of a big meal. We need to keep your Metabolism High, and Sitting around for the majority of the day won’t accomplish that. If nothing else, Try to get a walk in before or after your Big meal. Try to throw the Pigskin around with the kids, or maybe get everyone out on a bike ride. Things like this will go along way keeping you from being Sedentary and Sluggish.
2. Cook as close to scratch as you can! Yes packaged processed mixes are easy, but they contain multiple preservatives, and synthetics to keep them shelf stable for long periods of time. These ingredients promote weight gain, over eating, and sluggishness. Learn how to make your own cranberry sauce, Cornbread, or Stuffing all from scratch using real whole foods. Besides it’s fun to get the family in the kitchen and create some new things together. 
3. Start your Meal with a Salad or Veggies. Not only does this start filling your tummy with nutritious food right from the start, but it also aids in the production of Digestive juices that leave feeling less bloated and tired afterwards. Studies have proven that starting a meal with a Salad diminishes the amount of overeating, especially from the more calorie dense foods like sides and Entree’s. 
4. Portion control your Desserts! Slow Down, get the smallest spoon or fork you can find, and take small savory bites of your dessert. Being conscious of each flavorful bite will keep you from scarfing it down, leaving you unsatisfied, and searching for more. Desserts are very rich, take small purposeful bites, and draw out the enjoyment as long as possible.

I’m not a fan of restricting when going to these events. I’m a fan of focusing on portion sizes rather than avoiding certain foods all together. One of things I have learned to be so Valuable for me, is to slow down and be conscious of the food I’m eating. So many of us scarf down our food and never take time to enjoy it, savoring the flavors. When I learned this, it helped me to stop overeating so much, and to really be present and enjoying the food I was eating. 

If you follow these 4 tips, and you don’t over do it, you can bounce back to your routine with no extra weight to fend off once the fun is over. Remember, he who fails to plan, plans to Fail. 

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