When Christmas is approaching, you might be concerned about overeating and gaining weight. If you are trying to maintain your weight or lose weight during this time of year, these tips can be very helpful.
Eat Something Beforehand
A common trick that many people use when they don’t’ want to overeat during a special occasion or event is to eat beforehand. This may seem silly since you are heading to Christmas dinner, but the point isn’t to eat an entire meal, then eat a second meal when you arrive. What you are trying to do is eat a small meal or snack that is as healthy as possible, so that not only are you full, but you know you had something good for you. When you arrive for Christmas dinner, you will only eat a small amount because you are slightly full, and your cravings won’t be as bad, so you don’t overindulge.
Count Plates, Not Calories
Instead of trying to count the calories, grams of fat, or carbohydrates of each food item you choose, just count the number of plates. Give yourself just one plate to enjoy Christmas dinner on, including the dessert. That means only a certain amount of the plate should be filled up with food, leaving an empty portion for the dessert that will come later. The rest of the plate is filled up with anything you want, but you can’t use a separate plate, bowl, or go in for seconds.
Go For the Healthy Stuff First
Whether you are enjoying appetizers at a buffet table or choosing food at Christmas dinner, try to fill up your plate with the healthier food options first. Get a portion size of ham or turkey, then make up the rest of the plate with the healthier veggies. If there is any more room on your plate, you can then add the less healthy options like mashed potatoes or stuffing, but these should only be a very small portion of what you will be eating.
When you are trying not to overeat, denying yourself something rarely works. A better method is to use these tips shows, and let yourself have a bite of everything. If you want to try everything, don’t pile up your plate, but add a bite of two of each food item, enjoy them, and then don’t let yourself have seconds.
