It’s all about choices...

 

Healthy Holiday Nutrition

 

 

Healthy holiday nutrition for patients and survivors encompasses many different situations: you may need to lose weight, gain weight, maintain, boost your immunity, build new blood cells, etc. Here are ideas for some of those scenarios:

 

Some quick tips for weight loss/maintenance:

 

· Wear a belt to every party where they’ll be lots of holiday type food - and don't loosen it - so you feel the fullness and stop eating when appropriate.

· Use smaller plates and utensils so you do eat less - enjoy the quality but do consider slowing the pace of eating, making the mouthfuls smaller.

· Pay back with small spurts of vigorous exercise - even 10 or 15 minutes of intense walking can burn off significant calories

· Use "substitute ingredients" - fruit puree for fat, evaporated skim milk to add creaminess with less calories, blend up cooked veggies to thicken soups with less calories.

· Google lighter recipes - the internet has a plethora of recipes with less fat, salt, and robust holiday taste

· Treat treats with respect - if you decide you have entitlement at every meal and everyday for the next 4-5 weeks - that IS disordered eating - you need to find a way to calm that desperate inner food voice.

 

The holidays are a great time to enjoy with mindful eating and food selections and a commitment to simply maintain your weight. (this section from www.healthcentral.com)