With almost a month of the holiday season already under your belt, the belt may be getting a bit tighter. But before you head out to buy a new belt (and wardrobe) for 2014, consider a few of the following tips to rein in that unruly appetite in the midst of plenty. Believe it or not, it is possible to control your appetite even when surrounded by all of your favorite goodies. Control just takes some forethought and strategy.
A good starting place is to aim for satiety rather than restriction of foods. Being too "good" can get you to the point of being famished. The natural response of hunger is to eat; the natural response to excessive hunger is to overeat when food is available and therefore consume too many calories. Here are tips on how to enjoy holiday season foods and keep calories within reasonable limits.
1. Eat breakfast. Starving your way through the morning puts you at high risk for the natural binge response later in the day when goodies enter your environment.
2. Include some high-protein food at breakfast. People feel full longer after eating a meal high in protein than a meal high in carbohydrates or fat. Consider including a couple of eggs or some fish, poultry or meat. Greek yogurt and cottage cheese also are high in protein. Add a protein boost in your morning smoothie. The amount of protein needed depends on your body weight. The heavier you are, the more protein you need. But keep the protein foods lean. Sausage, bacon and peanut butter have as much (or more) fat as protein.
3. Avoid high-carbohydrate meals. Spikes in blood glucose have been found to stimulate appetite by blunting the satiety mechanisms. In other words, the more sugar and starch you eat, the more you want. There also is evidence that getting enough protein helps to extinguish a sweet tooth.
4. Never go to a party on an empty stomach. The combination of a growling stomach and a buffet of holiday treats is a binge just asking to happen. Instead, one binge-prevention strategy is to plan ahead. A papaya half with a scoop of cottage cheese is a great pre-party snack.
5. A lighter lunch is generally a good idea, but make sure it includes a good protein source.
6. Scan buffets to see which items you really want and which you will skip over. This will help to keep portion sizes reasonable.
7. Drink enough fluids to arrive at the gathering with your thirst in check.
8. Plan ahead on alcoholic drinks. Alcohol contains a fair amount of calories, and some drinks contain more than a high-fat dessert. When you are thirsty, the calories go down quickly with little notice. Alcohol lowers inhibition and makes it way too easy to overeat.
9. Enjoy the holiday foods for their beauty, their flavors and their textures. Enjoy the conversation, but don’t forget to pay attention to the food.
10. Keep guilt out of the equation. Guilt related to food is typically self-destructive. Focus on what you are doing to maintain good habits rather than on the ways you may have "blown it" here and there.
The goal should be to prevent holiday weight gain and in turn make New Year’s weight-loss resolutions less needed. Remember, what you do most of the time is more important than what you do some of the time. Enjoy your favorite goodies guilt-free because it is only "some of the time."
———
Alan Titchenal, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., are nutritionists in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dobbs also works with University Health Services.
