Holiday Eating Survival Tips

Provided Courtesy of Nutrition411.com

Review Date 10/13 G-1103Contributed by Shawna Gornick-Ilagan, MS, RD, CWPC

• Does the average American really gain 5 to 10 pounds (lb) over the holidays?

• How does weight gain occur?−3500 food calories=1 lb

of fat

Weight Gain During the Holidays

What Does 500 Calories Look Like?

Holidays in America

Ask Yourself…

No Such Thing as a ‘Bad’ Food

• How much and how often you eat higher-calorie, higher-fat foods is what is bad

Two Ways to Manage Weight

1. Portion Control

2. Substitution

vs

vs

How Important Is It?

How important is it for you to manage your weight during the holidays?

1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9—10

Trick or Treat

Are Trick-or-Treaters Growing?

• About 32% of children 2 to 19 years of age are overweight or obese

• More than one-third of adults in the United States are obese

Help Children Maintain a Healthy Weight• Offer treats such as stickers, pencils, Play-

Doh®, glow sticks, or miniature candy bars

• Introduce the Switch Witch, who comes at night like the Tooth Fairy and replaces the child’s candy with toys

• Have children sell back their candy (to their parents) for money or books

Thanksgiving

Low-Fat Crustless Pumpkin Pie

In a medium bowl, mix pumpkin, Egg Beaters, sugar, and spices. Add evaporated milk and mix well. Pour into 9″ pie pan sprayed with nonstick coating. Bake in 350º F oven for approximately 1 hour. Sprinkle graham crackers over cooled pie.

Serves eight. Per slice: 125 calories, 7 g fat, 25.4 g carbohydrate

16 oz canned pumpkin½ C Egg Beaters®

12 fl oz canned evaporated skim milk

½ C sugar½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon½ tsp ground ginger¼ tsp ground cloves4 squares of graham

crackers, crushed

C=cup, fl oz=fluid ounce, g=grams, tsp=teaspoons, oz=ounce

Pick Your Turkey Wisely

Dark Meat Dark Meat White Meat With Skin No Skin No Skin

Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa

Happy New Year

Liquid Calories

Beverage Calories

Lite Beer (12 fl oz) 100

Alcohol (1.5 fl oz) 110

Apple cider (8 fl oz) 120

Wine (6 fl oz) 124

Beer (12 fl oz) 150

Sparkling apple cider (8 fl oz)

150

Eggnog (8 fl oz) 306

Valentine’s Day

• One regular box of Sweethearts®=110 calories

• One sugar-free box of Sweethearts=70 calories

• Think of nonfood alternatives:−A teddy bear−Flowers−Jewelry−Cologne

Valentine’s Day (cont’d)

Saint Patrick’s Day

Lite Beer 12

fl oz

Alcohol 1.5 fl oz

Wine

6 fl oz

Beer 12 fl oz

100 calories

110 calories

124 calories

150 calories

Easter or Passover

• Jelly beans (1.4 oz)−15 large or 35 small

Regular Jelly Beans

Sugar-Free Jelly Beans

147 calories 80 calories

• Save 67 calories

Independence Day

July 4th

Hamburgers

Regular 80% lean 85% lean 92% lean

340 calories

270 calories

230 calories

145 calories

30 g fat 21 g fat 16 g fat 8 g fat

Beef Frank

Fat-Free Beef Frank

180 calories

50 calories

16 g fat 0 g fat

Hot Dogs

2 Tbsp icing=150 calories

Did you know…

Tbsp=tablespoon

Reunions and Parties

The 3 Ts

To help manage your weight during the holidays:

• Tips• Tricks• Techniques

• Alter recipes to reduce fat and calories

• Substitute skim milk and low-fat sour cream for higher-fat products

• Look at the calories and fat you can save by making small changes

Holiday Recipe Modification

Try switching from:• Evaporated milk (whole) to evaporated

milk (skim): −Save 143 calories and 15 g fat/8 fl oz

• Heavy cream to evaporated skim milk: −Save 604 calories and 83 g fat/1 C

• Butter or margarine to fat-free butter spread: −Save 97 calories and 12 g fat/1 Tbsp

Holiday Recipe Modification (cont’d)

Holiday Recipe Modification (cont’d)

Try switching from:• Regular cream cheese to lite or fat free:

−Save between 40-70 calories and 5-10 g fat/1 oz

• Regular ground beef to 93% lean ground turkey:−Save 90 calories and 11 g fat of fat/4 oz

Holiday Recipe Modification (cont’d)

Try:• Reducing oil in recipes:

−Saves approximately 120 calories and 14 g fat for every tablespoon reduced

Little Extras Add Up

• Cutting a mere 100 calories/day will allow you to lose (or not gain) 10 lb in 1 year

Drink, Drink, Drink

• Drink often—you will eat less

• Choose calorie-free fluids

• Think about it—are you hungry or thirsty?

• Reward yourself with the many benefits of drinking water

Take Time to Plan

• Plan what you will take to parties• Pick your ingredients wisely

vs

Learn About Food Substitutes

• Bring your own salad dressing, diet soda, and low-fat or low-salt condiments

• Reduce those calories by understanding how many calories and how much fat you can save

Salad Dressing

2 Tbsp Ranch Dressing

Fat-Free Ranch Dressing

137 calories 34 calories

15 g fat 0 g fat

2 Tbsp Italian Dressing

Fat-Free Italian Dressing

82 calories 13 calories

8 g fat 0 g fat

What Does This Mean?

• Switching from 2 Tbsp regular ranch dressing to 2 Tbsp fat-free Italian dressing saves you 124 calories

• Walking 30 minutes at 4 mph burns 136 calories for a 150-lb person

Learn About Food Substitutes

vs

What Does This Mean?

• Switching from regular soda to diet soda will save you about 150 calories/12-fl-oz can

• Walking 30 minutes at 4 mph burns 136 calories for a 150-lb person

Is It True That Sugar Substitutes Are Bad?

Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI)

• ADI: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says this is the amount that you can consume daily over a lifetime that will not result in injury, even after a lifetime of exposure

Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) (cont’d)

Name Examples ADI/day

ADI for a 150-lb Person(packets/day)

Aspartame(blue packet)

Equal®50 mg/kgbody weight

32.4 packets/day

Saccharin(pink packet)

Sweet’N Low®

5 mg/kgbody weight

2.8 packets/day

Sucralose(yellow packet)

Splenda® 5 mg/kgbody weight

22.6 packets/day

Stevia (green and white packet)

Truvia® 0-4 mg/kg body weight

10 packets/day

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Library. The Truth About Artificial Sweeteners or Sugar Substitutes. Chicago IL: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; 2011.

Kg=kilograms, mg=milligrams

No People Pleasing

• Eat only what you desire

• Do not eat as an obligation to others, even if they have cooked your favorite dish

• Make sure you make your own decisions—you are the one who will have to live with the consequences

• Stand up for yourself—others actually may respect you for it

Practice Assertiveness Skills

• Turn down certain extra helpings of food without feeling guilty

Learn to Eat Mindfully

Portion Distortion

• We do not need as much as we may think

Strive for a Healthy Plate

• One-fourth plate protein

• One-fourth plate grain

• One fruit• One dairy• One-half plate

nonstarch vegetables

Carry Food on a Napkin

• Which would you put more food on?

Eat Smaller Portions

• Allow yourself to taste what you want in smaller portions, so as not to feel deprived

• Avoid binges—once you start to feel deprived, you may set yourself up for bingeing

Choose to Eat Healthy Ahead of Time• Focus on fruits and vegetables

• Do not forget to eat breakfast

• Do not think: “I already blew it. I might as well blow it more.”

No Skipping Meals

• This will only result in a binge at mealtime and a spiral of guilt and hopelessness

Visualize

• Visualize yourself eating healthy prior to attending the holiday meal

• Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Stay Focused

• Know what you are doing

• Keep a journal

The Consequences of Nibbling

• Watch what you eat before or after the main meal

• For example, look at what was consumed at this graduation party:

Regular soda pop 150 calories 0 g fat

23 almonds 165 calories 14 g fat

Handful of chips (1 oz)

155 calories 10 g fat

Handful of Chex® mix 140 calories 4.5 g fat

Regular soda pop 150 calories 0 g fat

TOTAL 760 calories 28.5 g fat

Chew Slowly

• Take your time• Allow yourself to taste

your food—different areas of the tongue have different taste buds

• Enjoy the flavor and texture of food

• Put your fork down between each bite

Mint-Flavored Gum And Mouthwash

• While preparing food, chew gum

• Instead of seconds, try some mouthwash first

Exercise

• Exercise more often or a bit longer and harder for a week prior to the holiday meal to compensate for the additional calories you may consume

No Guilt Attached

• Make a conscious effort to choose what you are eating without having guilt attached

Manage Your Emotions

• Have a plan for what to do if strong emotions arise when faced with certain situations or family members

Eating Because of Emotion

• Lonely: −Call, e-mail, or text a friend−Do not make food a companion

• Bored: −Find a hobby−Understand that eating is not an

extracurricular activity• Sad:

−Write in a journal or talk with a friend−Identify why you are sad

Eating Because of Emotion (cont’d)

• Upset/frustrated:−Identify the source−Acknowledge that eating will not change

feelings and frustration

• Happy: −Learn to celebrate without food

• Tired: −Get some rest−Caffeine overload will not replace sleep

Eating Because of Emotion (cont’d)

• Stressed: −Take “10” for yourself and find a relaxing

activity• Worried/anxious:

−Remind yourself that many things in life are beyond your control

−Use positive self-talk−“Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what

may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”—Benjamin Franklin

• Trying to fill a void:−Identify what is missing from your life

Stop Eating

• Stop eating when you are physically full

• Start learning how to recognize the differencePhysical Hunger Emotional

Hunger

Take Time-Outs

• Take a time-out when you think things are getting out of control

Know the Truth

• Putting a couple of pounds on will not cause you to go back to square one

• You already have learned what is healthy

• No one can take that away from you

After the Holidays

• Resume your lifestyle of balance and wellness just after the holiday has passed

• Change your thinking, if you need to

• Do not think, “I already blew it, so I might as well blow it some more.”

Questions?