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Eating Healthy During the Holidays......
I asked DM support group listmates for their suggestions on how to
maintain during the holidays, and not overdo with the food~ (thank you
those who contributed)~ here's what everyone came up with
collectively.......
* 1 one drink water - or flavoured water before eating;
2. 40 chews to one bite; old fashioned but works - seems to get the juices
going and the brain seems to send out the satiety signals earlier than if
just gobbling food;
3. concentrate on the taste and texture of each mouthful and component of
the food. This slows down the rate of eating with the same effect as 2.
above.
4. Listen and talk and never with your mouth full. Amazing then how little
time you spend eating rather than stuffing, gobbling, swallowing half
masticated food so you can throw in your 2c worth <G>
5. Listen to your body rather than your eyes. If your stomach says I'm full
- listen to that instead of eyeing all the food still there which you haven't
eaten.
6. Practice saying no thankyou to second helpings. ;-)
* If going to a party or a get together where "grazing" is done, I will
often stick some gum in my mouth--hard to eat while chewing gum :) Also
this works while making goodies/cookies at home where you tend to eat
the dough :))
* If I am not the one in charge of the menu I make sure I volunteer to bring
a salad so I have something I can eat *extra* of.
I tend to sip on coffee, probably drink too much, but it helps keep me full
and keep the carbs away from my mouth.
I fill my plate up once only, if others are still eating when I am done, I
get up and start helping to clean up/do dishes....in other words, keep my
hands busy.
* 1. if going out, eat a small amount of something before I go so that I am
not sitting down at some late hour and am ravenous and pig out.
2. Eat very slowly, then sit for a few minutes and then if I want more go
for it, but never load my plate just put some food on it. I can always go
back. Relatively newly learned lessons.
* ***Cranberry sauce made w/ Equal... its a free food, w/ portions in
moderation..
^^^SF orange jello salad... w/ shredded carrots, SF pineapple, apples
and walnuts.
***LOTS of vegtable salads !!!! (Cole Slaw sticks in my mind !)
***SF ice cream
*** Putting lots of veggies into the stuffing that stuffs the bird... I use
mushrooms. onions. celery, carrots and whtever else is in the fridge tht may
taste good... oranges too !!!
** Serving only WHITE meat
In recent years Ive made SF pumpkin pie or just custard... to me it tastes
as good as the real thing, and hubby luckily thinks the same !!!!
* LOTS and LOTS of fresh veggies to nibble on.....so I can eat a bunch of
stuffing! My diet won't be the most nutricous...but it's two days out of the
year...tuhe other 363 I manage my bg great. Those two days are my reward for
doing great the rest of the year.
* I try hard to walk at least twice on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas
Day. I walk 2 miles in a.m. before eating and after big dinner I walk
another 2 miles if possible. I still eat too much but this helps.
Usually I recruit relatives to walk with me and we have a good time.
* The problems for me come in having goodies standing around between meals.
I have a really hard time not grazing. We have had less and less but I
usually succumb at some point and then skip other items during a meal.
* I find if I have substantial portion of protein then I get full for hours.
Can be useful if we adopt the French formal way of eating i.e. course of
protein au jus then course of veggies etc. But when we pile everything on
the same plate sadly the protein effect is minimised by the carbs in root
veggies and potatoes etc.
Soups made with low carb veggies, good chicken or turkey or meat stock as
opposed to stock cubes and small pieces of relevant protein also fill up
before main course which of course then means less room for carb high
desserts :-)
Lots of veggie dishes too both main course or as side dishes which are
filling, tasty but don't do a number on bgs.
Desserts? SF jello mixed with quark or cream cheese and frozen raspberries
-- 2 ozs or so. I sometimes just mix up some raspberries, blueberries or
strawberries or a little chopped mango with quark, cream cheese which is
delicious either with crackers or with plain sf jello.
I also use dal in various forms - makes delicious soups, crunchy side
portions with salads - masses of variations on them - half a cup gives lots
of protein but does not put up bgs and sticks to the ribs <G>
Also curly kale , lightly steamed then add a little EV Olive Oil or
butter and toasted sesame seeds - maybe a dash of worcester sauce or
soya sauce or chilli pepper or whatever. Delicious!
* I am bringing the turkey and stuffed veggies as a garnish. These stuffed
veggies are a part of my holiday diet strategy. They are only moderately
low-carb, since the stuffing does include some garbanzos, black beans, and
squash. I will only eat a couple of bites of turkey and these veggies will
help to satisfy me, since I tend to find even small portion of beans very
satisfying. I go for raw veggie munchies and I will bring a yoghurt dip for
those to augment richer dips. Into an eight-ounce portion of plain yoghurt,
I stir three tablespoons of vegetable broth powder, a tablespoon of olive oil
and pinches of my favorite herbs and seasonings such as garlic, thyme, black
pepper, chopped green onions.
I also make for parties a wonderful low-fat cheese spread. To a sixteen
ounces (two cups) of Quark ( a low-fat cheese product available at places
such as Sundance and other health-oriented food stores) I add a quarter-cup
of rinsed and chopped stuffed green olives and/or chopped black olives,
minced garlic, a lot of black pepper and a tablespoon or two of grated sap
sago cheese. This cheese is very strong and parmesan can be substituted for
it. For an even lower fat deal, the olives can be omitted and you can just
use chopped sweet red peppers and lots of seasonings in the quark. I let
this "mellow" for a day or two. It also keeps very well.
Quark is a yoghurt-cheese product that has 2.5 g fat per 1/2 cup 2 g of
which is saturated fat, so it is a pretty good cheese alternative for someone
like me who is a cheese nut. Low sofium too, only 75g to a half cup! 1/2
cup of plain quark has only 4 g carbs, so I sometimes just use the seasoned
stuff for a sandwich filling. It does have 11g of protein. For me it has
excellent staying power too. It is great on Finn-Crisp, Bran-a-Crisp or Rye
Crisp or for those who don't do gluten, they stuff celery sticks or long
slices of green and red pepper beautifully. For a nice dip, "dilute" this
with plain yoghurt, but increase the seasonings according to your taste. It
does not need salt at all since it is so tangy.
* The average person gains 5 to 10 pounds over the holidays. You can
watch your weight & still enjoy the festivities:
*Plan plan plan!- Before each event where there will be food, make a
plan. Eat light several days before the event. & eat lighter that day--
but don't skip meals or you'll set yourself up for a hunger induced
binge.
* Plan what you'll eat at the event. If it's a potluck or buffet, walk
up and down the serving line without a plate, mentally planning which
foods to take. If it's a sit down dinner, think about portion size.
Modify traditional recipies to *lighten* them up.
* Bring your low fat foods to the event- Whatever is your favorite, but
something you know won't send your bg's soaring.
* Continue exercising during the holiday season- don't wait till January
or next spring. Walking is great- helps relieve stress & curb appetite,
as well as burn calories.
* Eat or drink low-calorie fillers- clear soups, V-8 juice, mineral
water w/ lime- they'll take the edge off your appetite.
* Limit alcohol- it's high in calories (5 oz eggnog w/ rum has 245), but
more importantly, it increases appetite and decreases control.
* Create some new family traditions, that don't involve food.
So there you have it! For folks doing diet & exercise for control, the
holidays are more challenging---- but just keeping the whole juggling
act in balance applies to all types (not just diabetics!). So keep those
water glasses full & walking shoes ready to go!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone~
Fran
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