Tips to Beat Your Naughty Holiday Food Cravings

This holiday season use these clever strategies to help stop or at least reduce your naughty food cravings. In our society we use food (especially desserts) to celebrate with and it is up to you to make sure you stay on the rise and focus on health. “Without health life is not life; it is only a state of languor and suffering - an image of death.” -Buddha

• Maintain a routine. Typically during big celebrations, meals will be served at unusual hours of the day. Set a plan for these circumstances and aim to eat regular, small-sized meals throughout the day to maintain blood sugar levels.
• Super “Down” Size. Now that you have your plan of several meals throughout your day, shrink them down. And if you have to indulge in that slice of pie, well, it’s at least a thin slice.
• Move it. Helping with digestion and overall energy levels, exercise is king to this equation. Consider a brisk walk after dinner or tossing the ole pigskin around as a warm up to dinner. Burning calories while having fun, no one ever said that was a bad idea.
• What’s naughty? What’s Nice? Reading labels is a great place to start. Better yet, choose food like organic apples, squash, and nuts that don’t have labels. Going green when you can with salads, fruits and veggies will keep you satisfied for those temptations of unhealthy snack options throughout the day. Common “naughty” food will include artificial sweeteners, trans-fats, sugar, monosodium glutamate (MSG), or high-fructose corn syrup.
• Eat this, not that. Everyone has to eat. Make it easy to play nice to your taste buds while keeping the calories, sugar and unhealthy fats down by substitutions. Choose fresh veggies with low fat dips versus cheese and breads. If you are going to a party bring healthy options so at least you have your own food to consume instead of other not to healthy options.
• Don’t go shopping hungry. We’ve all done it and we all know what happens. We buy unhealthy snacks. Grabbing a smoothie or a protein bar on the go can help reduce that craving that influences our purchasing power.
• Know your triggers. There are many possible things that can set cravings off from smelling food, seeing images of food, stress or habit. It’s a good idea to identify what happens to you before you attack naughty foods so that you can understand why you are feeling the craving in the first place and have the mental edge to get past it.