Holiday Dinners

FINALLY! This part of Texas is seeing some sunshine after endless days of none. YAY!!!

I know it has been a whole week since my last post. I have been buried, swamped, overwhelmed, and over extended..... as all of us are this time of year.... with holiday parties & dinners, decorating, cooking and preparing for house guests during the next couple of weeks.

I finally have all of the pictures gathered up that were snapped from last Saturday’s Bless the Beasts and the Children event. I am working to put that blog together and will post it soon.

We are in full swing of holiday celebrations and gatherings......all complete with glorious buffets and settings of fabulous food and drink. In some ways, those buffets are easier to maneuver (see my blogs on Making it Thru the Holiday.... and Oh Those Holiday Parties that can be helpful) then the holiday family dinners that you may be facing over the next week or so. A lot can be useful in my past 2 blogs about making it thru the holidays and applied to the holiday dinners.

The thing about these dinners..... they are usually sit down, formal or not. Where food is passed from person to person.... and you may not have a lot of choices. Everything will be delicious, fattening, and overwhelming. So, in addition to taking a few dishes of your own that you know are healthful and will make less of an impact on your caloric bank, taking your own teaspoon for little bite servings, and not showing up to these dinners hungry... here are a few more helpful hints on how to make it thru those holiday dinners without increasing your pudge factor!

TWO STRATEGIES FOR CONTINUED SUCCESS

A. Toss all sanity aside & just pig out. Not a wise choice. You WILL be sorry & feel nothing but regret, bloating, enormous guilt, & tighter pants

B. The smartest choice: One hour before your party/meal, eat a large vegetable salad or a peanut butter and banana sandwich, bowl of soup or a piece of fruit.

When seated and ready to start passing the food, try and start out by filling your plate with raw veggies. Then steamed or baked or grilled or roasted veggies. Then beans and or rice if served. Add 2 to 3 oz serving of animal flesh. (If not veg*n ...i.e vegan or vegetarian,) then a small serving (teaspoon size) of traditional foods (dressing, yams, gravy, cranberry salad, mashed potatoes..etc…)These foods will have TONS of sugar, fat, sodium and calories… so go easy. Try and limit your serving to one.

Dessert is next on the agenda. Be careful: don’t inhale everything in site. At this point, you should feel full & satisfied, so choose ONE medium sized serving of ONE dessert (about the size of a ½ deck of cards) …or use your teaspoon and choose a very small bite of each favorite dessert.

As a personal fitness trainer for many.. many years... I have seen tons of clients suffer thru each holiday season. This is the hardest and most difficult time of year for them... more so then any other time of year. One of the reasons? WE ALL LOVE TO EAT! And boy the food choices during the holidays are endless and have a very high “YUM-O” factor, for sure!!! Very hard to resist.


If you follow these guidelines, you won’t see that belly pudge the next day and regret what you ate today. And... you’ll be ready to hit the gym, the park, or the track that next morning!





Until Next Time.....


GOOD HEALTH TO ALL!!!