The holidays are in full swing, which means festive food, and busy schedules. Many families are enjoying old traditions, or making new ones. Unfortunately also during these Christmas experiences, many people find themselves experiencing weight gain. Countless family gatherings and baking Christmas goodies all month are grounds for overeating, without any time to spare for exercise. By making few simple changes over the day, the holidays do not have to mean weight gain! Here are some simple tips to try out between traveling, parties, cooking, and company.
1.An Early Resolution? – Rather than waiting for New Years to start a resolution, make it easier on yourself and gradually work up to your resolution by New Years. This will also help you to stay focused and maintain weight over the holidays, so you can see faster results after. If your goal is to lose weight, maybe you will try to walk two days a week now, and by New Year’s you will be built up to walking 5 days a week!
2.Stress less about Exercise- Rather than stressing about shopping and cleaning this year, think of this as a time to multitask. Housework is one of the best ways to get in a workout over the holidays. Whether it’s moving around the kitchen while you bake, or vacuuming before company…it all burn calories! Shopping through the mall crowds, standing in line, and bringing bags out to your car all are positive experiences now that you can count it as a workout, right?
3.Quality Time- Rather than taking away from family time to work out, invite your family to do something as a group. Wake up on Christmas morning and enjoy some yoga together before presents, or take the kids out ice-skating or sledding after the famous Christmas dinner. Just remember, building a snowman or looking at Christmas lights will also provide memories that last longer than the memories watching a movie would.
4.Think Before You Eat – Eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed. If you find yourself overeating at one meal, go light on the next. Try to fill your plate with the lower calorie items such as vegetable dishes, and lean proteins, then take smaller portions of the rich foods. Eat slowly, socialize, and enjoy every bite! Overall, it’s the holidays and you need to enjoy yourself! Don’t restrict yourself from family time and enjoying some of your favorite holiday foods, but be mindful and plan ahead! Stay healthy this season, then after the holidays, your mind and body will thank you! -Kelsey
Thanksgiving is always a fun holiday enjoyed by all as we stuff ourselves and then resort to the couch to watch football or the start of the holiday tv shows. Here are some tips for you to get through the holiday without putting on all those undesired extra pounds.
Survey the entire table before you take any food. Decide what foods are worth eating and what can be ignored, and then stick to that decision. Why waste calories on foods that don’t bring you pleasure?
Eat a snack before you leave home. If you arrive at a party starving, you’ll be more likely to overindulge.
Eat your calories instead of drinking them. Stick to lower calorie or calorie-free drinks (diet sodas, water, light beer, or wine spritzer) instead of punches, eggnogs, and mixed drinks that can have up to 500 calories per cup.
Sip a large glass of water between every alcoholic drink or non-alcoholic punch or eggnog. This will help keep you hydrated and you’ll drink fewer calories by the end of the night.
When you are the host or hostess, include nutritious and lower-calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats on the menu. When you are a guest, bring along a lower-calorie dish to share.
Try not to hang out near the food. Find a comfortable spot across the room and focus on people instead of eating.
Watch your portion sizes. Don’t cover your plate completely with food. In most cases, especially when it comes to holiday sweets and alcoholic beverages, less is better. Use a smaller plate or bowl and have just a sliver of pie like the picture shows.
Drop out of the “clean plate club”. Leave a few bites behind every time you eat, especially if you are eating something you don’t really care for.
Enjoy your favorite holiday treats but take a small portion, eat slowly, and savor the taste and texture of the wonderful foods of the season.
Skip the pie crust and go for the filling.
Choose light meat over dark meat.
Use home-made cranberry sauce over canned cranberries that are jam packed with added sugars.
In soups, sauces, puddings, and desserts: Replace whole milk or cream with low-fat milk, evaporated fat-free milk, or nonfat dry milk.
Lighten up your recipes:
To make dips and toppings: Use low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese or sour cream, or non-fat Greek yogurt.
To make salad dressings: Use nonfat Greek yogurt or low-fat buttermilk.
In place of 1 whole egg in recipes: Use 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute.
In place of regular cheese: Use fat-free or reduced-fat cheese.
In place of full sugar: replace half with Splenda or reduce half completely.
In place of fats: use unsweetened applesauce or oil (1-1 replacement), or prune puree (1 cup of fat=1/2 cup puree).
More importantly is ENJOY your family and friends and all that have to the THANKful for! Happy Thanksgiving!!
I’m back to the clinic after maternity leave!! I have no idea where the last 12 weeks went–time truly does fly with little ones…but I am excited to be back and work with you all again!! Since it’s been awhile since I’ve posted on here, I wanted to ask you if you have any topic requests? Anything you want to learn more about? Anything you’d like me to post about? I will be covering some holiday eating tips along with other relevant topics to the season, but if you have certain nutrition topics you want to learn more about from me, please let me know!! You can also set up an appointment to meet with me in person if you’d like to have more of an individualized education session and plan set up for you. Email or comment to the blog to connect with me!
I included a few pictures of my little sweeties! Corbin loves his little brother Carson and I am blessed to be their mom!! -Kelsey
I have been waiting to post the news until we got our professional pictures back…so finally… here it is! It’s a boy! Carson Phillip Raml joined us about a month ago: August 21st (on his actual due date!!). We are doing well! I will be back to the clinic from maternity leave November 13th and we will be holding a spring 2020 STRIVE 2 Survive starting in March. I look forward to working with you all again soon!!
It’s hard to believe school starts next week…. and that means homework, studying, and activities! We often forget about the importance of our health due to the fact we get consumed by our studies. Making health a priority during school is important and can be much easier than most would think. Whether you’re in elementary, high school, or college, here are some healthy tips to keep a healthy balance between nutrition and school:
•Pack healthy snacks/lunches: One main reason students establish unhealthy eating habits is because of how busy their schedules are. Packing healthy snacks to bring to class or to your study spot makes it easy to skip the junk food and extra caffeine.
•Hit the gym/use recess: Elementary students should use their recess period to add some extra physical activity to their day. Many universities have wellness/rec centers that are free for students to use. Take advantage! Working out for as little as 30 minutes a day can make a big difference.
•Get a good night’s sleep: Sleep puts our bodies into an anabolic state, meaning that our muscles grow and recover from break down. Getting enough sleep each night is vital for our body to reach its peak potential and function properly.
•Eat breakfast: Skipping breakfast is very common for students of all ages. Eating breakfast helps keep you fuller throughout the day, making it easier to lay off the junk food. Eating in the morning also gives students more energy and makes them more attentive during class.
•Walk/bike to school: Walking or biking to school instead of driving is an easy way to burn a couple extra calories during the day.
There are multiple ways we can stay healthy during the school year. Make sure to stay health conscious and you will have no problem keeping a healthy lifestyle. -Kelsey
