Healthy for the Holidays

It’s not easy staying healthy once the holiday season rolls in. There are cookies at the office and candy canes, fruitcakes, eggnog and gingerbread galore — although maybe we’d skip the fruitcake.

And who wants to venture outdoors for a jog? The weather outside really is frightful, while the fire and toasted marshmallows seem delightful.

We knows it can be difficult to keep an eye on diet and exercise at such a festive time of year, so we want to help. Here are some tips from our Health Coach instructor for a very merry, happy, healthy holiday season.

• Limit time spent watching television during and after meals.
• Don’t go back for seconds at mealtime.
• Know which holiday food favorites are the unhealthiest and avoid these or choose smaller portions.
• Eat turkey without the skin on it since the skin adds extra fat.
• Make two thirds of your plate fruits and veggies.
• Skip the eggnog. One cup can have up to 350 calories.
• Don’t skip meals so that you can eat more during dinner.
• Try recipe modification: for example, substituting applesauce for oil in a muffin recipe.
• Bring your own healthy dish to a holiday party.
• Choose hot tea instead of hot chocolate after coming in from the cold.
• Make family activities not all about food. Choose crafts such as ornament decoration rather than making gingerbread houses or cookie baking.