How To Get Through The Holidays Without Gaining 10 Pounds!

From the vantage point of a personal trainer, I have observed a pattern that there are two tricky times for clients in terms of throwing off their routine, and indulging a little more than they planned: Summer and Christmas holidays! Well, summer is past and maybe September brought you some new-found resolve and motivation to get your body feeling good and into shape. Good for you! Let’s NOT mess this up then! The next tricky time is right around the corner and if you want to keep weight gain at bay, you’re going to need a strategy!

1. Move Daily!

It might seem obvious, but believe me, this is the first thing to go when the calendar gets full. Before December even arrives, take a look at your schedule and begin to jot in times to move daily. It may not even be your regular workout, especially when guests come to town, but it might be a family walk, ice skating, tobogganing, early morning in home video. I’ll even quote the good old adage, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!” Just do it. Now.   

2. Beware of Carbs

I am not a carb hater, believe me, but if you want to stave off weight gain this holiday season, then you need to be aware of what a carbohydrate is, what foods contain them in large quantities, and how to eat less of them.

First of all, a carbohydrate is one of the 3 main classes of food. The other 2 are fats and proteins. Alcohol is another category all together, but that’s another article!  It is a source of energy for the body and mainly starches and sugars, that the body breaks down into glucose, which the body uses to feed its cells. Too many carbs, and the body now has too much energy, which converts into fat storage. So the name of the game is to have enough carbs for energy, but not so many that they’ll get stored as FAT!

Foods like hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies, stuffing, mini quiches and fancy sugary cocktails all contain a lot of carbohydrates! If you know that you have an event coming up where there are going to be lots of these items, be sure to limit your carbs in the days leading up to the event. In fact, don’t be afraid to incorporate Intermittent Fasting on days that you have special events. If you are in the pattern of eating though and haven’t yet tried fasting, then follow this approach:  In lieu of having oatmeal for breakfast you have 2 poached eggs and avocado. Instead of a sandwich at lunch, have a green salad with tuna. Regularly practice swapping out high carb items for low carb, and when a special occasion arises, you can actually enjoy what is served.

3. Practice Portion Control

We often get in this mindset that we have to try everything or we’ll never get another opportunity to eat this food again! Not true. You’re an adult, you can make or buy it again. Don’t get caught up in putting a little of everything on your plate because a little of everything can add up to a lot of unwanted calories (just like when we are taste testing everything at Costco 😉 Choose the things that you really, really want to try. Pick the smallest plate that is available, so that it appears the plate is full (this can trick the brain according to Dr. Brian Wansink). Start with choosing 20% less than you normally would. Make sure you’re drinking lots of water, and always wait at least 20 minutes before considering if you’re still hungry or not (*the time it takes our stomach to send a message to our brains that we’re full).

Those would be my 3 main focuses as we head into holiday month! Always move, watch your carbs, and practice moderation. If only it were that simple! Remember, if you need additional help with your eating/nutrition and you want to learn a bit more about the WHAT and the WHY behind good nutrition, visit us at www.movedaily.ca/programs/ and sign up for our Nutrition Master Class and Healthy Eating Program. It teaches you all that you need to know to get started!

MOVE DAILY NUTRITION
Paleo Buckeyes

Serves 30 balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup nut butter (cashew, almond, peanut or substitute)
• ¼ cup honey (use local when you can)
• 3 tbsp coconut flour
• 3 tbsp ground golden flax meal
• 6 ounces dark chocolate (or sugar-free chocolate)

Preparation

1. Mix together all ingredients except the chocolate.
2. Roll into  1”inch balls and place on cookie sheet, lined with parchment or tin foil. Freeze for 30 minutes
3. Melt chocolate in double boiler and dip the ball into the chocolate, covering at least half way. Use a toothpick and skewer the end so you don’t get chocolate everywhere.
4. I placed a dot of chocolate on top too so I could add a pinch of sea salt to enhance the flavor.
5. Store in fridge for 4 days or in freezer for a month. 

 

MOVE DAILY NUTRITION
Hot Peppermint Cocoa

DAIRY FREE, REFINED SUGAR FREE

Ready in 10 minutes

Serves 2  people

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk
• ⅓ cup water
• 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey (or low calorie sweetener  -Stevia or Swerve)
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp peppermint extract

Preparation

1. Place all ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Whisk to remove any lumps and warm until steaming, not boiling.
3. Blend in a bullet to get a little foam top (optional)

Serves 16

Eatmore Bars

• 1 cup dates (soak to soften)
• 3 tbsp nut butter
• ¼ cup hemp hearts
• 2 cups salted peanuts (no salt for low sodium option)
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder (sweetened with stevia)
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• ⅛ cup water (I use soaking water)
• ½ tsp vanilla

Preparation

1. In a food processor, chop peanuts and set aside.
2. Add nut butter, vanilla, cocoa powder and dates. Process until smooth
3. Add wet mixture to chopped peanuts and stir in protein powder and hemp hearts. Add water if it seems too dry.
4. Mix with hands and form a large ball. Press flat between 2 pieces of saran wrap. Shape into rectangle.
5. Chill in freezer for 1 hour, then pull out and slice into 16 bars. Wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in freezer.

 

MOVE DAILY NUTRITION
Lemon Coconut Date Bars

Serves 16 bars

 

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups softened dates (soak in hot water 1 hour)
• ⅔ cup almond meal
• 1 cup dried unsweetened coconut
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Juice and zest from 1 lemon
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ cup all natural peanut or almond butter
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder (add more if the dough is too sticky)

Preparation

1. In food processor, combine dates, vanilla, salt, lemon juice, peanut butter until blended.
2. With the spatula, mix in coconut, almond meal, protein powder until thoroughly combined. If mixture seems too wet, add another scoop of protein powder.
3. Pat mixture out onto a plastic wrap lined cookie sheet and top with another layer of wrap. Press mixture out with hands into the shape of a rectangle. Chill in freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Slice into bars and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Store in freezer. Can also be made into balls.

MOVE DAILY NUTRITION
Chai Walnut Energy Bombs

Serves 20 energy bombs

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup oats
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• ½ cup nut butter
• ⅛ cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp each pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds
• 1 scoop vanilla whey powder (optional)
• ¼ cup almond milk (if adding whey powder)
• ⅛ tsp each cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom
• ½ cup crushed walnuts to roll bombs in

Preparation

1. Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and combine.
2. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt together nut butter, honey, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Combine nut butter mixture with the dry ingredients and add the whey powder. If it is too dry to roll into a ball, add almond milk, a little at a time.
4. Roll into 1 inch balls and then into crushed walnut crumbs. Put on parchment lined baking sheet and freeze.
5. Store in airtight container in freezer up to 1 month.