Tips To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

Good Morning Friends! Happy Cyber Monday!  In case you missed Friday’s post, I shared TWO Hungry Hobby exclusive deals you can nab today!

• Sign up for your first Butcher Box order and get six free steaks or $100 worth of Dry Farms wine!  Find out more details here. 

• Use this link to take advantage of UCAN’s biggest sale of the year. Save 25% + free shipping with code HUNGRYHOBBY!

How was your weekend?  Mine was amazing. Thanksgiving was 85 degrees here in sunny Phoenix, perfect weather for my two-year-old little nephew to spend all day in the backyard playing with the dog toys.  Nala did great too!  We usually take her to Masters Kennels – a boarding place out in Gilbert by our old house, but this year we kept her home.  We felt she would either be locked up there and at home, why not keep her at home?  The beautiful thing is our backyard is divided, and the Master bedroom has a door out to the pool.  That meant we could let her outside straight from the bedroom meanwhile Mr. Hungry’s 88-year-old Grandma stayed safe on the other side of the fence.  So, overall, it was a pretty uneventful but busy weekend.  Who would have thought a two-year-old could keep six adults so busy.  Anyways, we had LOTS of treats this weekend.  Tons of stuff I wouldn’t usually eat, but that’s what the holidays are about right?  If you ask me, YES!  That being said, I made sure I made a meal plan yesterday and then hit the grocery store.  Here is what I’ve got planned!

Breakfast: 

• Pork Sausage (from Butcher Box, the only ingredients are sage, salt, and pepper!), Arugula, Primal Kitchen Green Goddess DressingPrimal Kitchen Green Goddess Dressing, and Sweet Potatoes
• Cottage cheese, berries, raisin, and honey
• Oatmeal for Mr. Hungry: 1 cup oats, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1T coconut sugar, 2 scoopsvital protein collagen, 2 tablespoons almond butter.

Snacks: Seed Cycling Energy Balls 

Lunch: 

• Deli meat, veggies, hummus, plantain chips for me
• Leftover Turkey or ChickenThights from Butcherbox, sauteed spinach, and TJs roasted potatoes for Mr. Hungry

Dinners:

• 20 Minute Spicy Asian Chicken Wraps 
• Steak Tips with Zucchini Noodles and Rice
• Salmon Salad (recipe copycat in development!)

This morning is off to a good start; I had coffee with collagen and half & half.  I also had cottage cheese!  The picture came out yellow because it’s so dark in here in the AM but here is a recycled one:

I’m all for holiday fun, trust me, I’m not one to pass up treats.  That being said there area few things I focus on to help keep the holiday season in check.  Personally, I find the hardest time to keep a balance of healthy and treats is from Thanksgiving to New Years.  I find that on Thanksgiving itself, I tend to be acutely aware and really well.  I have treats but they are in moderation, and I don’t feel gross.  However, in between holidays is when I let my guard down. I tend to be a bit more snacky and lose track of how many treats I’ve really had.  Every year I feel like I do a little bit better and I mainly contribute that to focusing on the things that make the most significant difference.

 Drink Half Your Body Weight In Water

Drinking half your body weight in water daily helps fight fatigue (which will make you crave more sweets) and boosts your metabolism.  (Tips to drink enough water)

 Plan Plan Plan 

• Plan A Weekly Menu – I plan our weekly menu around what events we have coming up.   If I know, there is a day that will be more indulgent I can remember to eat healthy around those days.  (Easy Meal Planning Template and Tips)
• Plan My Workouts – Before my back flared up I had every single workout planned in my calendar through November and December.  Unfortunately, right now I have to listen to my body to get back to my super active self.  I’m still planning workouts every week with the guidance of my chiropractor.   (How to make a workout schedule you can actually stick too.)

  Look for Protein and Produce 

• Let’s face it. The holidays are a carby time. Focusing on getting enough protein and produce will help you fight cravings, stay full, and provide your body with nutrients to fuel you through the season.

 Save Up For The Good Stuff

• It can be tempting to grab at everything that comes in the house.  For instance, some oreos went into the house over the weekend, and it was tempting to grab a handful. However, I just kept in mind that there were also Grandma cookies, pies, homemade cinnamon rolls and lots of other unique treats.  I didn’t need to waste calories on oreos that are available anytime throughout the year.  For my Hungry Hobby RD clients, work can be a real B*tch.  People try to get things out of their home by bringing them into work.  Try to keep the same thing in mind, if it isn’t unique don’t waste your time on it.

Sleep Enough and Sleep Better

• The number one thing you can do to keep your health in check over the holidays is sleeping enough and sleep well.  The more sleep you get, the more energy you will have for workouts and the fewer cravings you will have.  Research consistently links sleep with smaller waistlines so now more than ever, prioritize your sleep over everything else. I know it can be hard, so I have a bedtime alarm that goes off 8 pm.  That means I have one hour to go through my 45-minute bedtime routine, get showered and off to bed by 9:30 pm at the latest. (Tips to sleep enough and sleep better.)

Take Your Core Supplements 

• Let’s face it, the tips above are bound to fail at least one or two days.  Like last night, I stayed up too late watching the office with the family, it happens.  I do my best to stick to everything above every single day, but the fact is life isn’t perfect.  My diet, sleep, water, and exercise will not be 100% on point, so I take my core supplements (Multi-Vitamin, Fish Oil, and Probiotic) as a kind of insurance policy.)