4 ways to NOT gain weight during the holidays
This blog is for those of you that already know you’re about to, or even thinking, of doing something bad 🫣. You’re this close to talking yourself into giving up dieting until the New Year because the “holidays are coming”. If you want some motivation to stay the course, then keep reading my short, sweet, and brutally honest message to you!
4 painless concepts to avoid weight gain
Don’t turn a few celebration meals in to 3 months of pigging out
We’ve all said this to ourselves: “I’m just going to not worry about my diet until after the New Year, and then I’ll start again”.
It’s SO easy to gloss over this statement of self-justification so that you don’t have to restrict your eating during fun events, but is it worth gaining 10 lbs during the holdiays??? I’d like to help you look at this situation logically and I promise, it will make you realize that the above statement is flat out malarky.
If you look at the chart below, you’ll see that there’s really only a few days we can say are actual holidays, and allllllllll the days in between are simply not holidays and there’s no reason to make bad choices that derail you from your health goals. Sure, you might have friend, family or work parties on some of those normal days, so add those to the list of celebration days, have a little extra fun, but get your Sh*t together the next day please! 🤣
2. Keep carbs under 100 g if you’re low carb, under 40 g if you’re keto
The first recommendation is to continue your diet of keto or low carb, even on days you have holiday parties or gatherings to attend. The best way to do this is to eat the lowest possible carb-containing foods during not-party times and save the carbs for the big meal of the event. For example, if you’re going to your mom’s house for Thanksgiving dinner at 4 pm, then save your carbs for that dinner. Obviously the best way to know that you’re on track is to count carbs.
Here’s an example of how your day’s meals might be arranged:
Breakfast: intermittent fasting or an omelette with cheese and veggies (1-3 carbs)
Lunch: Tuna/chicken salad in a lettuce wrap or in a sandwich using our bread products (2-5 carbs)
Thanksgiving dinner: fill up on safe, low carb items like charcuterie-type apps (olives, nuts, meats, cheeses), main course meats, salads, and veggies. You can also bring keto/low-carb substitutes you prepare or the ones we provide like stuffing, loaded cauliflower casserole, pies, cakes, etc. Watch our FB live where we talk about these menu items we sell!
As you can see, breakfast and lunch can be very few carbs, and this let’s you “spend” the rest on dinner! And if you DO eat too many carbs or foods outside your plan, just get back on track the very next day. No need to feel guilty.
3. If you’re drinking, stick to low carb cocktails
There’s absolutely NO reason NOT to party. And did you know you can do so while staying within your diet parameters?! Follow these rules:
AVOID: beer, wine, punch, sweetened seltzers and cocktails
YOU CAN HAVE: vodka, rum, whiskey, scotch, gin, or any other unsweetened liquor. Mixers are soda water, tonic water (has a few carbs so read label!), and diet sodas, sugar free seltzers like Zevia, LaCroix, ICE, etc.
Keto Katz sells a keto cranberry margarita mix this season, so you can swing by and grab that, or you can look up your own recipes online.
Disclaimer…when you get tipsy you’ll drop your guard and might want to snack. Be sure to reach for those safe, low-carb options listed above.
4. Let Keto Katz provide you with low-carb sweet and savory products for the holidays
Most holiday parties we go to have some low-carb/keto foods available, so be sure to fill your plate with those types of foods first. Anna and I have also asked our hosts what they’re serving so we can prepare ourselves for what’s going to be on the menu, and then we’ve also offered to bring a side dish of something we know is safe for ourselves if needed. If you know you want stuffing, be sure to bring it! If you know you’ll crave pumpkin pie, then bring it! Don’t be embarrassed, it’s no one’s business that you care about your health and want to stay on track.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
Avoid giving up completely! Think ahead to the future you next January that ate anything they wanted from Halloween to New Year’s Day who gained weight, who felt tired and was inflammed. Are you OK with this or do you wish you didn’t lose control of yourself? Think about all the work you’ll need to do to reverse the side effects you just created.
You’ve got this! And if you need us to use our Italian discipline tools to motivate you, just stop by the Garfield location and we’ll “take care of it”.