EP. 32: Are You Ready for the Holidays?
In this episode, we explore how to indulge in your favorite sentimental foods without overdoing it. Now that I'm a clinical nutritionist and I've had more than a decade of monitoring my own nutrition and well-being as well as my patients, I've found that it's all about striking the right balance, so you can enjoy those special moments without the discomfort or stress that sometimes follows.
We'll share some realistic tips and tricks for managing portions and cravings, like the ancient wisdom of the Hara hachi bu philosophy or using herbs like Gymnema Sylvestre—nature’s original appetite suppressant. Plus, we'll dive into cinnamon and ginger root's benefits and how they support overall wellness.
🎧 Key Takeaways:
- Be mindful of your goals and set realistic expectations.
- Simple tips: eat before gatherings, savor your meals, drink water, and even try popping a stick of gum or mint right after eating!
Try low-calorie versions of your holiday favorites (like banana-based holiday nog!)
- Remember that it’s not just about the food; it’s about the company and memories.
- Tune in to discover how to enjoy the holiday season and special occasions with less stress and more joy!
Show Notes
1
0:00:00
So with the holidays coming right around the corner, I get so many questions from patients on how do I maintain a healthy weight? How do I survive the holidays? When we choose food around the holidays, a lot of it is sentimental, which I get, you know, I grew up making dozens and dozens and dozens of cookies with my mother. We always had them in a big cooler on the back porch.
1
0:00:32
We would make nut rolls, baklava, all of that good stuff. And of course you have one cookie, then you have another one, and November, December are blur, and then you have New Year's resolutions in January. So there are some tips. Now that I'm a nutritionist and I'm at much older and wiser, tips to survive the holidays.
1
0:00:53
So you don't have to wear the elastic leggings at Thanksgiving and Christmas and just really feel miserable. It's not worth it. So how do we reach that happy medium with indulging in some sentimental memories with food and making good memories with family, attending the events, and not sacrificing our health, our inflammation, and feeling like crap, right? Because that's what it comes down to. We all know when we don't eat good, there's repercussions, and it's just not worth it. So just to kind of put it in perspective, a typical holiday meal for most of us, once we start to add up the calories, and you guys know
1
0:01:34
counting. In all honesty, if it's clean food, chemical free, GMO free, you don't really have to count calories. High protein, high fat, just common sense. Things that our grandparents, great-grandparents used to eat. But a typical holiday meal, roasted turkey, 6 ounces, which most of us, if I've seen Thanksgiving plates or Christmas plates, it's more than 6 ounces, 450 calories. One cup of stuffing, I'd say that's probably about right, 400 calories. A cup of gravy, that seems like a lot to me but we'll just say it's a cup, 300. A
1
0:02:11
cup of mashed potatoes, 350. A cup of candied sweet potatoes, 400. Half a cup of cranberry, 200. Two rolls of butter, 300. A cup of peas, which I'd say most of us probably don't have peas at the holidays, but that's 150, so that's actually a good alternative. And one slice of pecan pie, let's be honest here guys, none of us are having just one dessert, right? Just skinny slices of pie. We usually have a couple of them or brownies or cookies, but one slice of pecan pie, 650 calories. So when you total all that up just for one meal,
1
0:02:52
we're looking at 3,200 calories. Most of us give or take 2,000 calories is a good rule of thumb, not trying to lose weight or gain weight. But if you want to lose weight, you have to subtract or burn 500 calories a day to lose one pound a week. So that 3,200 really blows your diet and lifestyle right out of the water, right?
1
0:03:21
There are some tips, right? Herbs are fantastic. A lot of medicines are derived from herbs. So one of my favorites that I'll recommend to patients and is really good for insulin resistance, which I've talked about about before is Gymnema sylvestri, it has a really cool name. This kills sugar cravings. It's been used for centuries, it prevents overeating, binge eating, emotional eating, helps to lose weight. So there's a couple of tricks with that.
1
0:03:53
You can take it as a capsule, especially around the holidays, but what I usually recommend is get a tincture or a liquid of it. Say you're going to a cocktail party or a get-together and you know there's going to be some sweets there. If you spray just a little bit on your tongue, when you eat something sweet, it's going to taste awful, like plastic. And we used to do this experiment in the office. I would have peanut butter cups or bits of chocolate, have the patient eat one, oh yeah, they're really good, right? Then put the
1
0:04:22
of lustrate on their tongue and it tastes plasticky and they nine times out of 10 spit it out because they can't eat it. It doesn't last forever, it usually just lasts for an hour or two, but that's a nice trick up your sleeve to not indulge in sweet things.
1
0:04:40
The other good one, yes, we put it in pies, but it's also really good as a tea and as a supplement, cinnamon. So this will lower cholesterol, lower blood sugar levels, helps to fight cancer, bad breath, helps with sinuses, boosts brain activity, so many benefits. So supplement wise you can do as directed on the bottle. I always
1
0:05:06
recommend getting it again from a reputable source. You could always simmer cinnamon bark and make your own teas. You could always mix it in with other things. I really like it especially around the holidays in my coffee. So I'll just shave. We have whole nutmeg and I'll get the micro blade out and just shave it or cinnamon. So that's really good to do. And then ginger. Ginger is another one. So pick up some ginger root at the store and I'll just shave off the skin and just same kind of thing put it over something that I'm cooking
1
0:05:41
or simmer it to make ginger tea add a little bit of raw honey cinnamon is really good for nausea for motion sickness so if you're traveling during the holidays one of my favorite candies is by the ginger people they're gingens I've used those when I was pregnant and I get morning sick and car sick a lot when I travel. So that's something to kind of have in your toolkit. It helps with migraines. So if you get stress migraines being around family
1
0:06:10
and friends, or maybe indulging in too much alcohol, ginger might be a good option for you. It does help prevent diabetic neuropathy. So if you have diabetes, ginger is great to start taking. Helps with heartburn, great for inflammation. So you can pair that with turmeric and Boswellia and really have a great heavy
1
0:06:31
hitter for inflammation. So one of the main things to kind of keep in mind is be realistic, right? Do not pick November 24th as the day to start your new diet. It is not going to work. And usually what I recommend to patients, if you're going to be making major diet changes, start the end of September,
1
0:06:50
beginning of October before Halloween comes, because I feel like once October hits, the holidays are a blur. If you've been working on weight loss, aim just to maintain during the holidays. Don't aim to lose weight during the holidays.
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0:07:07
You just want to keep status quo.
2
0:07:09
And then if you've been incorporating
1
0:07:10
other healthy behaviors, such as walking or yoga or meditation. Go easy on yourself if you do overindulge. We're all human. The holidays come once a year, so just be kind. Another good tip is to eat before you go to those parties or get-togethers. Just like you don't want to eat before you go grocery shopping, don't arrive at a holiday party famished because we we eat more and we eat faster when we're hungry and we all know we make really bad decisions at the grocery store when we're hungry. Don't skip meals, eat
1
0:07:46
breakfast unless you're doing intermittent fasting which is a whole topic for another day, but you have some good protein, some really good fat that will help keep you fuller longer and even that will help to keep cravings at bay and it'll help give you energy for all your shopping and all your errands. Research actually shows that skipping meals leads to consuming extra calories through the day and I've noticed that with my husband especially
1
0:08:15
if he doesn't eat breakfast and he just kind of is watching his weight and eats light like a salad for lunch he's famished and overeats when he gets home at night, and then he doesn't know why he's not losing weight. So make sure that you eat breakfast and eat throughout the day. It's okay to say no, right?
1
0:08:35
At parties, we tend to eat or keep eating beyond just because we lose that physical hunger feedback and we're socially around others. So if we see others drinking or eating, we feel that pressure to do so as well. So this is kind of known as recreational eating. So really just
1
0:08:53
make one small plate that you really want of the foods that appeal to you. Eat slow, taste it, savor every bite. When you're finished, pop a stick of gum or the mints like the Risewell mints in your mouth. Get a tall glass of water or non-alcoholic beverage to sip. My favorite at parties to not drink alcohol is soda water with a splash of cranberry. That way I feel like I'm not missing out. And then do not camp out at the food table or the dessert table. Step away from the food. It'll do you wonders. Another
1
0:09:32
good tip is beware of the liquid calories. Holiday drinks can range from 150 to 500 calories and those really add up fast. So fruit punches, eggnog is a really big one, spiced cider, some holiday hot chocolates. So just be careful the brain doesn't sense liquid calories the same way as it does with solid foods. So it's very easy to overindulge. Portions, remember the only thing that should be stuffed during the holidays is the turkey. So eat just until you're comfortable. Really kind of execute that Harajuku philosophy, eat until you're 80% full, because it
1
0:10:18
does take a little while for that brain and stomach to communicate to tell you that you're full. Whether at home or at a holiday party, eat a smaller plate. Seven inches is usually ideal. And of course, savor some holiday treats, but in small portions. So for example, if my husband and I are out to dinner,
1
0:10:37
I don't get a dessert myself. We split one, take a couple bites, and then that's it. And then of course, balance your plate with fruits and veggies. Don't stress. Stress is really high during the holidays. So if you need to do an adaptogen, up your
1
0:10:55
meditation, your prayer, your exercise, whatever you need to do, grounding, make sure you're taking care of your stress and don't be too hard on yourself. Just get back on track. If you fall off the wagon, get right back on track. One piece of pie won't go straight make or break you. It usually again takes 3,500 calories a week over your normal intake to gain one pound. So again if it's 2,000 you can see it's easily easy to gain a couple pounds during the holidays. Keep moving right so that's key
1
0:11:30
whether it's biking, swimming, walking, yoga, that always helps it helps with stress it helps with metabolism helps to burn some extra calories And if you're out of town and you get together with friends and family use that as socialization So get up in the morning go for walks catch up with them that way It's really nice just to kind of get together like that
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0:11:54
focus on friends and family again
1
0:11:56
Make the company of those you love the center of the gathering not the food. It's not about the food, it's about the company and the memories. So with regards for refrigeration of these healthy foods, gravy, it refrigerates to harden the fat and then you want to skim off the fat. So if you notice that, you put it in the fridge and there's that big fat layer, skim it off. Yes, some of it can be a healthy fat, but if you're watching the calories and watching some content, you want to limit that. That can save 56 grams of fat per cup. Dressing, use less bread, add more onions, add fruits, cranberries, apples.
1
0:12:43
Dressing or stuffing, it depends on where you're from with what you call it. Kind of focus on gluten-free grains, right? We want to limit the inflammation. So if you want to bake sugar cookies, do it with the King Arthur gluten-free mix like I do. And then bake one or two dozen.
1
0:13:01
And when you're out, you're out. Alternatives to sugar, what God gave us, right? So honey, maple syrup, you can do some like sugar alcohols, erythritol, xylitol. For some people that tends to create bloating because it's an alcohol and it can kind of ferment in the gut so just be wary of that. Stevia, I'm not a huge fan
1
0:13:24
of stevia and agave but at the end of the day they are healthy options. I know the the big one right now is monk fruit, same kind of thing. Everything in moderation. Watch the hidden calories, so like green bean casserole. Yes, there's green beans in it, but there's a lot of other stuff that's not so healthy. Focus on protein and fat. You can do, so one of my tricks,
1
0:13:51
you can do like a holiday nog with bananas, just kind of like how you do ice cream with bananas. So you take four bananas, you take 1 1⁄2 cups of milk, 1 1⁄2 cups of yogurt, 1⁄4 teaspoon of rum extract, or you can add rum itself, nutmeg, or I'll use pumpkin pie spice. Blend it, puree, smooth, top with nutmeg. Easy. And then that way you don't feel like you're missing out. And then desserts,
1
0:14:17
right? If you can make the pumpkin pie crustless, that's always a good option. You can substitute egg whites for eggs, replace heavy cream with milk or evaporated skim milk, and then really focus on fresh fruit as your sweets and then fill up on any desserts. Other than that, just kind of enjoy the time
1
0:14:39
with friends and family. Again, make it about the company, not the food, but eat 80% healthy, indulge 20%, but eat 80% healthy, indulge 20%, and you'll be fine during the holidays.
Transcribed with Cockatoo