Healthy Merry CHRISTMAS!

Merry chritsmas everyone! 

The season is terribly cold!! And we all know that when we feel cold, we tend to eat more!

It's chrsitmas, and we all wanna celebrate and forget about diet and healthy eating!

" It's just a matter of one week then I'll go back to my normal habits"

But "this week" can simply be a disaster if you don't watch your foods and drinks!

What to eat, what not to eat, what to eat in moderation, what to decrease and what not to worry about???

1- Watch what you drink: Be careful about the alcohool consuption! 4  or more glasses of alcohol in one night is counted  as binge drinking.

One glass of red wine is excellent for your heart, it increases HDL and decreases LDL due to its high content of "resveratrol" .

But one glass has 120 calories! So healthy doesn't mean that you can binge on it!

2 glasses of red wine, 3 times a week are considered okay.

2- Buy less food for the celebration, and don’t let this occasion turns into an excuse for a whole  month of bingeing. Don't  ever go to a supermarket if you feel hungry!!

3- What are you realy eating?? Keep reading the labels, but don't be fooled! Are ‘light’ potato chips or crisps really a great health option?  You can save more than 30 calories on a packet if you know how to read the labels! And the most important thing is not to get confused between zero sugar, zero fat, and zero calories!

"Zero fat" or "no sugar"  don't mean "Zero calories", so go easy!

Check all the terms meanings here!

http://eatlikemira.com/2010/04/28/what-are-you-really-eating/

4- Fill up healthily before meals with 2 glasses of water,  tomato juice, or even lemonade with sweeteners.You’ll be less hungry when you reach the table. But DO NOT drink fruit juices due to their high content of sugar and calories with no fiber at all!!

5- Nuts are rich in selenium which improves mood and reduces anxiety. Eat only one handful a day! (45 calories, all from fat but the good fat)

- Kastana is very  famous during christmas, but a lot of people don't know what is it and how to count it?

It is counted as carbohydrates with very little  fat.

So 4 kastana are counted as 1 exchange of carbohydrates and so, have 80 calories.

- Dry fruits (dates, figs, prunes) are healthy as well, rich in iron but high in sugar.

3 dry fruits have 60 calories so go easy on that too!

6- Cinnamon balances blood sugar and reduces the cravings for sweet foods. Stir a little into your tea or coffee.

7- When seeing all the food varieties on the table, you want to try everything and thus you tend to eat more. That's normal and can happen to all of us!

That's why, it's very important to drink 2 glasses of water before sitting on the table, and to see what can be the healthiest options to start with so you can be directly satisfied.

Enjoy everything, say no to nothing – but do it  in moderation. Start with vegetables (try not to dip them in cream sauce) then pick 2 healthy appetisers, then go to the main dish.. Avoid bread with appetisers, you can substitute the bread by lettuce.

8- When it comes to sweets, the consumption doesn't have to be on a daily basis.You can have one kind of sweet twice a week, and surely have one on christmas  day! If you cannot resist it, hide away indulgent puddings, "meghlei", "buches de noel" and other temptations, so you don’t see them everywhere in the house.

Out of sight is out of mouth!

9-  If you’re used to exercise, have a vigorous session the day before and after the feast, and you’ll burn extra calories more efficiently

Feast with these tips for a couple of days, but don't forget to return to normal right after that!!

MERRY CHRITMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Check this post as well to know more how to substitute unhealthy food choices by healthy ones!

http://eatlikemira.com/2010/07/29/eat-this-not-that/

Also check this site that gives you brief healthy tips for a healthier Christmas

http://december.mealsapp.com/