Tips For Surviving The Holiday Feasts!

Tis the season to have an upset stomach, stress, and all manner of gastrointestinal complaints. Here is a compilation of information from this website which may help you survive and thrive during the coming holidays!

Alcoholic Beverages
It's the holidays so the first words of advice are: Be sensible, drink in moderation, defined as one drink per day for women and two per day for men. For those with past alcohol dependence, avoid alcohol totally.

Losing Weight? Not By Drinking!
Alcohol can be a source of added calories that go unnoticed. It is very easy to down a few drinks and not realize how many calories you have ingested. Mixed drinks with added sugary mixers really add up in the calories!

When drinking alcohol include drinking a glass of water. Either have a drink of one then the other or after a drink have a big glass of water. This will decrease the amount you take in.

Be in a Better Mood By Avoiding Alcohol and Eating Well!
Eliminating caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, refined sugar, simple carbohydrates, and artificial sweeteners can put you in a better mood during the holidays. These harmful foods will only stress out your body more and cause mood swings, anxiety, and depression.

A way to be smart about your eating is to plan your pleasures and acknowledge the variation from your regular healthy eating plan. Maintain your balance of foods over the day, and if attending a party with food or drink, eat lightly before and after the event. Also, make sure you eat protein to balance the carbohydrate foods. Before going to a party, drink water and take some vitamin C and E. This will help with the digestion of both the food and the alcohol.

It's Hard...But Avoid Sugar!
Okay, you get it by now, Don’t eat a lot of sugar. Limit your white breads, white pasta, white rice, desserts, pizza, soda’s, and coffee with sugar or sweetener in it. It’s unrealistic to think that you can avoid sugar all together through the holidays, but pick your battle. If it’s that piece of pumpkin pie you really want, then don’t go for all the other fillers!

1. Cut out sugary foods – this means sucrose, glucose, dextrose, fructose, and cane sugar. Watch your labels – sugar comes in many forms.
2. Cut out sugary drinks: soda, juice, alcohol. You’d be amazed at how many "empty" calories are consumed from these types of foods. Sometimes, just getting rid of these items produces a profound weight loss.