Your Holiday Nutrition Strategy

As the holidays get underway, many of you are going to start to get a bit anxious about what this could mean for your diet.  You’re fully aware of the fact that in a few short days, you’ll be met with holiday baking that seems to pop up around every single corner.

Add to this that you’ll have social function after social function to attend and you can already see your healthy diet plan going down the drain.

Before you’re so quick to just give up hope and decide that you’re going to start a massive fat loss program come the New Year, come up with an action plan instead for how you can combat the typical holiday weight gain that most people deal with and even use the time as a great muscle building phase!

If you go in with a plan, the chances that you come out with your weight in tact will be ten times higher, not to mention you’ll likely enjoy the holidays that much more as well.

Let’s have a quick look at some simple tips that you should be using.

Always Eat Protein Before Social Gatherings

The very first tip that you should definitely be making use of is always having some protein before you attend any social gatherings.  Since quality protein is often the hardest thing to find on the menu or buffet when at a social function, by eating enough before the event you can be sure that you’re still going to be meeting your daily needs.

In addition to this, protein has the highest satiety effects on the body so by taking it in before you go you’ll have a reduced chance of eating more calories than you should.

Keep Your Muscle Building Meals Tasting Great

The next thing to do this holiday season is to make sure to experiment with your typical muscle building recipes so that you’re creating meals that you enjoy. If you aren’t enjoying your standard daily diet it’s going to make all those tempting treats look that much better and really increase the chances that you cheat on your plan.

Try one new healthy recipe a week and you should be able to stick with your diet that much better.

For great recipe ideas, you know where to go right?

Be Prepared With Healthy Snacks

When at the office, always try and keep a few healthy snacks on you.  Since this is the place where holiday baking seems to flood during the coming months, by having your healthy snacks to eat when you get hungry, you’ll be less likely to eat that plate of chocolate truffles that passes you by.

Those healthy snacks will also help to keep your blood sugar levels more stable so you don’t get sudden urges of hunger that you want to satisfy with some simple carbs.

Allow Yourself One Treat Per Event

Moving on, when you do go to a social function, make an agreement with yourself that you’ll have one treat per event.  This will help to keep the total calorie intake down and ensure that you still don’t feel deprived.

One smaller portion isn’t going to create too much damage so it should still allow you to keep your weight intact quite effectively.

Bring Your Own Dish

Bring your own dish to any function whenever possible.  While it may be a bit more work on your part at least then you will know that there’s going to be something healthy there that you can turn to if you do get hungry.

The worst case scenario is if you’re someone where there are no healthy options and your stomach is growling.  This will take care of that problem in a hurry.

A popular dessert you could bring would be something like my Maple Pecan High Protein Muffins. See recipe link below:

Maple Pecan High Protein Muffings Recipe << click here

Plan a BIG Workout!

If you can, I would always try and schedule workouts around those holiday parties or meals. I often hit up a big workout before sitting down for a holiday feast, and while still following the rules above, I am able to indulge in those little treats with much less guilt and the best part is that it all goes towards refuelling depleted glycogen levels.

So keep these tips in mind this coming holiday season. If you are sure to apply them to your nutritional approach you shouldn’t be facing the average 5-10 weight gain that most people deal with come the New Year.

But just one last note; if you only have 1 meal during the holiday season, you don’t really need to adhere to these guidelines as much. Don’t be shy about having a cheat meal if it is done in only one shot. Just don’t make every gathering an opportunity to stuff your face lol.

What foods do you look forward to the most over the holiday season?