Three Ways to Have a Healthy Holiday Dinner

By Tamiera Vandegrift on November 29, 2015

When turkey time came around, it was probably awfully tempting to throw all of your fitness goals to the wall and stuff your face with mountains of mashed potatoes, every flavor of pie known to mankind, and the most radiantly golden serving of macaroni and cheese that you’ve ever seen. Without a doubt, eating enough to expand your stomach ten times past its natural capacity is probably the second best thing you could be doing with your time. However, if you’re like me, and you’ve worked hard all year to achieve your body goals only to have them destroyed on Thanksgiving, a new plan needs to be implemented. With that being said, here are some tips and tricks to have a healthy holiday dinner that will still keep you and your belly satisfied.

Watch those portions!

The golden rule of working towards any fitness plan is to remember that fitness is mostly diet! Resist the urge to pile pounds of your mom’s heavenly cooking onto your plate. Instead, eat smart. Use this guideline for building your plate:

  • Fill 1/4th of your plate with turkey, or whatever meat you plan to use as your dinner’s protein.
  • Use half of your plate to load up on your mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and other types of veggies and greens.
  • With that remaining quarter, load up on your grains! Fill this space with those Pillsbury biscuits or your grandma’s homemade rolls.

Just because you’re watching what you eat, doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy yourself! Feel free to splurge with a slice of pie or a bowl of ice cream. Treat yo’self… with regulation.

Slow and steady wins the race, or the gains. 

A common mistake made by us food enthusiasts is to gobble down what’s in front of us with the enthusiasm of someone who hasn’t seen food in over a week. Unless you’re starving and on the verge of death, eat slow. Yes, you read that correctly. By eating slowly, you’re allowing your brain to catch up with your stomach. By allowing your brain to catch up with your stomach, you can accurately gauge when your body is beginning to feel full. By gauging when your body is beginning to feel full, you’ll be able to know when to stop eating and yes, you’ll avoid that painful food hangover that will be plaguing everyone else who didn’t follow these tips. You, my friend, are ahead of the holiday game.

Don’t be a potato

After a nice, relaxing dinner with your family, what could be better than lounging on the couch and catching up on reruns of The Walking Dead? For the average individual, nothing can top this. However, for you, your post-dinner plans should vary in the best interest of your fitness gains. Instead of sprawling out on your sofa like a bump on a log, stay active! Encourage your family to take a walk around the block with you. Take your dog for a stroll as a reward for their obedient masochism as they sat around and watched you eat all day. No matter what you do, make sure you keep that metabolism running strong.

The holidays may seem like the ultimate time to push off those fitness goals until the spring and overindulge in every type of sinful culinary creation imaginable. While this seems like the best, and most enjoyable, way to experience the holiday dining experience, there are healthier ways to do so! By eating smart and remembering to stay active, you’ll have a holiday dinner that’s both delicious and healthy- yes, you can use both of those words in the same sentence!

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format