RAPID CITY, S.D.– With food such a central part of the holiday season from November through the beginning of the new year, it can be very easy to indulge in meals and various treats. However, as Monument Health Clinical Dietitian Donna Riley says, keep everything in reason.
Avoid overindulgence
With all of the cooking in the kitchen, you might be anticipating a big meal. However, Donna says to re-think your preparation for the big dinner. “It is tempting to maybe skip meals the rest of the day when you know that you have a special meal. But in reality, you want to stay on your regular meal routine. It is fine to cut back on those a little bit, but you do not want to come to that special meal very, very hungry or famished. It is when we come really hungry that typically we make choices in foods that we might not otherwise make, or we eat really fast,” she said.
She adds that it can take the brain around 20 minutes to recognize the stomach is full. Furthermore, by eating fast people will eat more and then eat too much. And adds that slowing down while eating at the dinner table can be as simple as ‘drinking and being merry.’ “Converse with people, take a drink of water between bites, or put your silverware down between bites. That can help you eat slow,” she explains. “And then when you are comfortably full, you are comfortably full. Stop eating and distance yourself from food. That might look like getting up from the table, or it could look like taking your plate and your silverware to the kitchen and returning to the table to converse without the option of taking more food.”
Portion control
In terms of portion control, being mindful of a healthy amount of a particular food, limit yourself. As she mentions before, do not divert from your regular eating habits on holidays to accommodate for the increased food intake, but think it out. “Look over your choices wisely and consider how you really want to use your calorie budget and you really want to choose foods you love and choose the foods you enjoy and then enjoy those foods and instead use portion control of those foods as a strategy to continue to eat healthy.”
Sleep habits
The holidays can be a stressful time, as several different factors such as added responsibilities and packed schedules can all come together very fast. And while exercise is important during the holidays or any time of year, Riley adds that maintaining healthy sleep patterns is equally important. “Sleep affects our appetite, or lack of quality sleep can cause us to feel more hungry,” she said. “When we don’t sleep well, hormones that cause us to be hungry are actually more active. So we are going to be more hungry. Then when we are presented with multiple food choices, again, we are going to overeat, eat, or we might snack all day long because we have this hunger momentum that comes from hormones that would be suppressed if we had been sleeping well.”
There are no “good and bad foods.” But there is value
As Donna Riley states, foods being good or bad for you is not an accurate description. That it really comes down to nutritional value of what you are eating. “Some foods are high in nutrient value compared to their low-calorie level and compared to their degree of processing. And then there are other foods that are low in nutrient value compared to their calorie level being high and then their degree of more processing.”
To further demonstrate this, she uses the example of an apple versus an apple pie. “An apple is high in nutrients compared to its low calories and is not processed. Where an apple pie is low in nutrients compared to its calorie level.”
How to get your diet back on track
After the holidays, Riley adds that it can be easy to feel guilty about going off-diet. However, do not let it bring you down. “In reality, all of us have had some degree of success with healthy eating. So thinking positively about those times and not letting the negativity rule your actions,” she explains. “Think about your strengths and what you have done positively in the past and get back on course with small things again. If we make too many changes at one time, it is actually hard to keep. But if we make small, doable changes a little bit at a time, we are going to be more successful with long term success.”
Bonus: Healthy eating tips for children and their parents
Kids are very impressionable, and can also be very picky when it comes to food. Donna Riley adding that being a good example is most important. “Do not talk bad about food. For example, if there is something you do not like, that should be a secret,” she explains. “And never, ever use food as a reward either. When food is a reward it takes on a different meaning for a child. So we do not want to use those special desserts as a reward.”