Six Steps to a Healthier Holiday Season

Around the holidays, you may want to stay in your home to resist the temptations of all the food at a holiday party that can wreck your weight loss efforts. However, by giving yourself a plan, holiday feasts do not need to be feared.

Here are a few simple tips that may help:

• For Thanksgiving and Christmas, serve turkey for both occasions. Turkey is a better source of protein and is lower in salt, fat, and calories than ham is.
• Dressing should be made with whole grain bread or with brown or wild rice.
• Roast your vegetables. This locks nutrients inside the vegetable and also brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetables.
• Do not offer a huge selection of desserts, instead offer one pie and serve it with fresh fruit. Serving fresh fruit and low-fat yogurt also makes a delicious and healthy parfait.
• Serve low calorie drinks. Research shows that many Americans get nearly one quarter of their daily calories from drinks.  Low or no-calorie drinks will have a dramatic effect on your weight loss goals.
• Get active. Walking around will help burn calories right away.

The holiday season lasts approximately two months, and by the end it gets harder and harder to stick to a plan. Setting weekly goals and monitoring your eating and exercising habits will help keep you on track throughout the holiday season.