10 Tips for Surviving the Holidays Without Killing Your Diet

Here are 10 diet-friendly strategies for Thanksgiving and beyond by Nutrisystem.

1. Have a plan.  Think things through before you get to the actual holiday meals and parties. Maybe your strategy is to take tiny portions of different dishes; that’s OK. If you’re cooking, you might want to have your bottle of water with you in the kitchen, so you’re less tempted to snack. Do what you can to stay away from the appetizer table. Plan to avoid anything that’s not homemade. The point is that if you go in with a plan, you’ll be less likely to get caught off-guard.
 
2. Stay on track. Holidays are not the time to skip meals in an attempt to “bank” calories. That’s a strategy that can backfire miserably. Instead, eat everything on your meal plan leading up to the holiday event, and make sure you’re drinking all your water. You’ll be less likely to overindulge at the big event.
 
3. Set a goal. There’s something about holidays that makes people forget what they do the rest of the year. Do you already have weight loss goals set up for November, December and January? If not, you can start today. Once you’ve set a short-term goal, decide on a way to reward yourself once the goal has been reached.
 
4. Drink smart. Face it, overindulging during holiday events—whether it’s an office party, a family gathering or a neighborhood open house—can add a lot of extra calories to your day. In addition, when you’ve had too much to drink, it tends to weaken your previous resolve and derail any strategies and plans you might have had. Besides, you don’t want to end up as that karaoke-singing family member or neighbor everyone will be talking about for the next month.
 
5. Trim the calories. This tip is especially useful if you happen to be the primary cook for an event. In baked items, replace the fat with an equal amount of applesauce and the sugar with a sugar substitute; substitute a quarter cup of egg substitute for every egg called for in the recipe; replace butter with low fat margarine; replace whole milk with 1 percent milk and sour cream with yogurt; reduce the amount of nuts called for by half. And don’t forget both veggies and salad.
 
6. Enlist support. Trying to maintain your diet can be hard at the holidays, but there’s no reason you have to go it alone. Ask for your family’s understanding or even their help, so nobody’s trying to foist “seconds” on you.
 
7. Keep moving. Go for a morning run or work out before the feast. After dinner, instead of just sitting around, suggest a family walk, or organize a touch-football game. Most people will be grateful for the chance to move around, and it can keep you on-track with your exercise plan.
 
8. Quality not Quantity. If you do plan to indulge in some of the traditional Thanksgiving favorites, use these portions as a guideline:
Turkey—3 oz. white meat, no skin (about the size of a deck of cards)
Mashed potatoes—1/3 cup (about the size of half of a baseball)
Gravy—1 Tbsp. (just drizzle it)
Relish made with sugar—1 Tbsp.
Stuffing—2 Tbsp.
Dinner Roll—if not homemade, skip it
Pie—1/12 of a 9” pie
 
9. Eat Before You Go. Whether you are hosting or just attending a holiday function, be sure to eat a small healthy meal before the festivities begin—that way you won’t be tempted to overeat during the meal and will be able to stay on track.
 
10. Embrace the holiday spirit.  This last tip may just be the most important: You can get so caught up in all the planning and hoopla that you lose the whole meaning of the holiday season—coming together with friends and loved ones. It’s the time that’s really valuable, not the food and drink.