Letting Go of Leftovers
The holidays wouldn’t be so bad for our waistlines if it weren’t for the fact that most of us start celebrating a month ahead of time and continue to do so through New Year’s Day. There also tends to be an onslaught of cookies and baked goods from well-meaning neighbors, co-workers, and friends, not to mention the ones you make yourself for giving away or entertaining guests. At this point in December, whether you’ve indulged in moderation or completely blew your best dietary intentions, the focus needs to be on planning for the day after Christmas. In other words, you need to think now about how to stop indulging once the big day is over, since the lingering casseroles, cookies, pies, and puddings tend to be too tempting for most of us.
If we could all keep the holidays confined to only one or two days of eating whatever we want, we probably wouldn’t spend the first few weeks of January compensating for our indulgences. So, here are some ideas for stopping the food frenzy as soon as Christmas is over, and turning that 10-pound holiday weight gain into a mere 1 or 2, easily losable pounds.
1. Plan ahead. If you’re entertaining for the holidays, buy some disposable plastic containers to pack with leftovers and send them home with your guests. Be focused on getting rid of the desserts, casseroles, breads, candies, and not-so-nutritious snacks/appetizers.
2. Conversely, if you’re going somewhere for the holidays, politely thank your host and decline any leftovers if offered. Sounds completely unfair, right? You will be happy you did so a few days later.
3. If you’ve baked dozens of cookies and a few pies as well, be sure to follow your intentions and give a majority of them away. Of course, if you have children, the idea of no cookies during the holidays makes you look like Scrooge, so do what you can to minimize their sugar intake while waiting until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to enjoy yours.
4. If you do have leftovers, regardless of your efforts to unload them on family or friends, enjoy the most healthy ones: steamed or roasted vegetables (ideally those without excessive cheese, bread crumbs, butter, bacon, or cream-of-anything soups), turkey, ham, or whatever lean protein you might have served, and veggie-based salads, if they’re not laden with creamy dressings.
5. Worst case scenario – throw them away. While this seems wasteful and probably is, you’ll pay a greater price if your clothes are tight in January, especially knowing you could’ve prevented the weight gain with a little more discipline over the holiday. If anything, perhaps planning ahead to prevent such waste will motivate you to make healthier holiday food, and to have just enough to get you through the day.
6. Finally, if you can’t bear the thought of tossing that heirloom family dish you’ve dreamt about all year, nor can you imagine giving it away, divide it into single-serving (ie: small) portions and freeze. You can thaw one portion at a time over the next several months to enjoy in moderation. Then, not only will that special dish last longer, but it will be less likely to show up as added pounds than if you eat the whole thing before New Year’s Day.
Life is far to short to deprive yourself of any decadent luxuries during the holiday season, but you can do just that, without spending the next month or two compensating, if you plan ahead and really think about savoring the day vs. savoring the entire month. You might, in fact, enjoy it more knowing that you can indulge in moderation without feeling guilty for the whole month of January.
So have a happy, indulgent-for-one-day holiday, and a strong, healthy kick-start to 2012!
If we could all keep the holidays confined to only one or two days of eating whatever we want, we probably wouldn’t spend the first few weeks of January compensating for our indulgences. So, here are some ideas for stopping the food frenzy as soon as Christmas is over, and turning that 10-pound holiday weight gain into a mere 1 or 2, easily losable pounds.
1. Plan ahead. If you’re entertaining for the holidays, buy some disposable plastic containers to pack with leftovers and send them home with your guests. Be focused on getting rid of the desserts, casseroles, breads, candies, and not-so-nutritious snacks/appetizers.
2. Conversely, if you’re going somewhere for the holidays, politely thank your host and decline any leftovers if offered. Sounds completely unfair, right? You will be happy you did so a few days later.
3. If you’ve baked dozens of cookies and a few pies as well, be sure to follow your intentions and give a majority of them away. Of course, if you have children, the idea of no cookies during the holidays makes you look like Scrooge, so do what you can to minimize their sugar intake while waiting until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to enjoy yours.
4. If you do have leftovers, regardless of your efforts to unload them on family or friends, enjoy the most healthy ones: steamed or roasted vegetables (ideally those without excessive cheese, bread crumbs, butter, bacon, or cream-of-anything soups), turkey, ham, or whatever lean protein you might have served, and veggie-based salads, if they’re not laden with creamy dressings.
5. Worst case scenario – throw them away. While this seems wasteful and probably is, you’ll pay a greater price if your clothes are tight in January, especially knowing you could’ve prevented the weight gain with a little more discipline over the holiday. If anything, perhaps planning ahead to prevent such waste will motivate you to make healthier holiday food, and to have just enough to get you through the day.
6. Finally, if you can’t bear the thought of tossing that heirloom family dish you’ve dreamt about all year, nor can you imagine giving it away, divide it into single-serving (ie: small) portions and freeze. You can thaw one portion at a time over the next several months to enjoy in moderation. Then, not only will that special dish last longer, but it will be less likely to show up as added pounds than if you eat the whole thing before New Year’s Day.
Life is far to short to deprive yourself of any decadent luxuries during the holiday season, but you can do just that, without spending the next month or two compensating, if you plan ahead and really think about savoring the day vs. savoring the entire month. You might, in fact, enjoy it more knowing that you can indulge in moderation without feeling guilty for the whole month of January.
So have a happy, indulgent-for-one-day holiday, and a strong, healthy kick-start to 2012!
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