Healthy Holidays! Wait that doesn’t sound right, does it? We all know that it’s hard to stay healthy during the holidays that fill the fall & winter months. Halloween sugar followed by carb and calorie dense Thanksgiving, then Christmas gatherings with family, friends, & festive foods. Here are some tips to help you through the festivities.
* Don’t skip meals: continue to have a balanced schedule, even though you want to save your appetite for the BIG meal, still eat a small breakfast or lunch that is rich in protein, low fat, and full of fiber.
* Reduce butter & other fats: fats add extra calories, so reducing them will help to reduce amount of calories in the holiday meal.
* Focus on Mindful Eating vs Mindless Eating: eat because you’re hungry, not because everyone else is—think about your hunger and fullness, try new foods being served, but enjoy what you are eating.
* Go for nutrient dense foods: sweet potatoes vs. regular potatoes, veggie tray vs. cheese/cracker tray, fruit vs. cookie/pies.
* Take a walk with the family or do an activity together between the meal and dessert.
*Most of all- enjoy your time with your loved ones! Merry Christmas! -Kelsey
Diabetes Support Group is Monday night and I will be your speaker!! Come join me to learn more about nutrition tips for the holidays! It is open to anyone–those with diabetes and support people! Please see the details below!
December 14 6-7 p.m.
Prairie Lakes Medical Office Building Conference Room: 401 9th Avenue NW Watertown, SD 57201
Participants must wear a mask to enter the facility.
Attendance is limited at these in-person events, so please RSVP here as these slots will fill up fast: https://www.prairielakes.com/…/diabetes-support-group.html
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 to make your holidays healthy:
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!! -Kelsey
The Diabetes Support Group will be meeting Monday night. This is a fantastic group to learn more about diabetes and support those with it. Monday’s speaker is Lance with Medtronic. Medtronic has a variety of technology options for managing diabetes such as their insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitor. He has a wealth of knowledge and a lot to share regarding diabetes technology. The group is open to anyone–those with diabetes and those who support them. The conference room in the basement at Prairie Lakes has plenty of room to allow for social distancing….please join us Monday!!
Meeting Time: 2nd Monday of the Month @ 6:00 pm
Location: Prairie Lakes MOB Conference Center
A group gathering for people with diabetes and those who support them.
