It’s the start of the Holidays! The means you are running from party to party, store to store and feel like your healthy habits are left in the dust. Well, here are my top healthy holiday tips that you can use during Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Years!

Let’s dig right in…

1. Remember that Thanksgiving is ONE DAY, not all week. Christmas is ONE DAY, not all month. So keep it to one day. Don’t use a week or month long worth of celebrating as an excuse to splurge day after day.
2. A few days or weeks before your planned events call your hostess and let he/she know that you would be honored to bring a dish. Then plan to bring a vegetable dish or raw vegetable try or an upgraded dessert. This is where Pinterest is your golden ticket! By upgraded I mean, use almond milk instead of whole milk. Apple sauce instead of oil or butter. There are even amazing pies with dates and nuts as crust. Search paleo, organic, vegan or raw to get your wheels turning.
3. Call your yummy day a TREAT day, not a CHEAT day. You aren’t going to ‘cheat’ on anything or anyone. You are planning for these treats and you have (hopefully) worked hard all year to relax and enjoy the treats that you deserve.
4. Start your day with a heart pumping workout! It doesn’t have to be an hour long or anything complicated. Just do a weight lifting session (body weight moves count). Or do a 15-30 minute HIIT workout. You know all those Pinterest workouts you have pinned? Put them to use! Do a move as hard or as fast as you safely can for 60-90 seconds, rest for 30-60 seconds, pick a new move to do hard core for 60 seconds, rest 30-60 seconds and repeat the pattern.

   Doing this will can actually help block your body from storing sugar as FAT! Plus, if you are working out before you go to your meal, you are more likely to make better choices and overeat. Oh and you already know this, but you can’t work off a poor meal so you might as well get your workout in before your meal when you feel the best. Who wants to do jumping jacks after eating turkey?

5. You’ve gotten your workout in, now it’s time to fuel your body with a power packed breakfast. You might be tempted to skip breakfast since you will be eating so much but that actually may cause you to overeat. See, nutrition deficiency leads to chronic overeating (I kinda always thought that but thanks to The Model Health Show, I learned to science behind it). S

   So I recommend you start with a veggie omelet with a little lean meat on the side. Make it a protein packed meal.

6. Make a plan before you go to your festivities. I tend to think about the things that I most likely won’t get until next Thanksgiving or Christmas or things that I for sure won’t make. For example, I have never made a pumpkin roll and I honestly never eat it unless it’s November. So that I will choose as a treat. A store bought chocolate chip cookie for sure won’t be on my plate. Why would I eat something that isn’t homemade and isn’t even special?! If I really do regret not eating it (which has NEVER happened) then I can always go to the store and buy one, after all, it’s store bought.

   I also like to think about how often I will have the chance to eat those particular dishes again. After all, how hard is it to make mashed potatoes? And is that really a once a year dish? Not in our family! I’m not saying you can’t have ANY of those kind of items–we will talk about that later (check number 8).

7. On your way to the party visualize the person you want to be. Visualize the person you are working so hard to be. Think about how that person eats. What would that person put on his/her plate? Those are the foods you want to fill your plate with. I know, if you’re still reading this post, you are trying to be the best person you can be. You are working toward a better you and someone you can be proud to be! You can become that person. You are amazing and you are capable of reaching your goals!
8. Alright, so now you are at the party. Remember, you already have a plan, so now you just need to see your options. I always like to walk around and look at what is on the buffet. Look for the foods that look like real food. Foods that you can still recognize where it came from, those are the foods you want to eat. Green beans, yes. Green bean casserole, nope. When it’s covered with an unknown sludge substance then P.A.S.S. Also, I usually kinds of rate the foods based on how much I like them and when I will get the chance to eat them again. Like I said, I won’t be making my own pumpkin roll anytime soon and I won’t have the chance to eat it again until next November. Cranberry sauce from a can that still looks like a can….I can pass on that (after all it doesn’t even look like cranberries).
9. Now in line to fill your plate or the bowls and dishes start to pass through your hands. Then, I will fill 3/4 of my plate with lean proteins (turkey over ham, white turkey meat over dark and of course lamb and salmon are great choices too). Then the last 1/4 of the plate are those yummy yummy treats that I’ve been waiting for!! Have fun! Enjoy your 1/4, make those bites the best that they can be!
10. GET PHYSICAL…. AGAIN!! Go on a walk after your meal. Take this time to catch up with family that you haven’t seen in awhile. Make it a new tradition. Get outside, even if you have to bundle up in your gloves and hat. And you can still visit but don’t just leisurely walk, walk with a purpose.

    I hope that you find these tip helpful. Have no regrets about your treat meal and give thanks to the Lord for health, family, friends and an abundance of food!