Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means we’re about to enter the month-long extravaganza of eating too much and constantly having sweets at hand. With all the parties, holiday baking, and other excuses to eat too much, it can be difficult to stay healthy. It’s a good thing those New Year’s resolutions come so soon after!
At Lord de Pastry, we value the balance between delicious treats and a healthy lifestyle by making healthy low sugar desserts that still taste delicious. Unfortunately, we know not every dessert at every holiday party will be from Lord de Pastry, so this year, instead of eating too much and feeling the holiday sugar-overload, practice these tips to staying healthy and still enjoying your holiday favorites.
Set Down the Guilt
One of the biggest reasons we end up overeating during the holidays is guilt about what we’re eating. If you feel guilty as you eat, you don’t enjoy it as much, and you don’t feel satisfied when you’re done – you just feel bad. Instead of this perpetual cycle, give yourself permission to fully enjoy the treat. You’ll feel satisfied when you finish and likely eat fewer unhealthy treats.
Go Light First
At big holiday meals or parties, it can be easy to load up your plate a bit too high. If this is your M.O., practice these couple steps to prevent too much overeating. First, if you want to have a bit of everything available, take smaller servings. This way, you get to taste everything but don’t overeat. The other part of this is how you clean your plate; get into the habit of starting light and moving to the heavier foods so you’ll eat more of the healthy things and less of the unhealthy. This means starting with the soup, salad, and veggies and moving on to the sauce-covered and sugary.
Don’t Give In to Holiday Madness
We know those decorated sugar cookies are delicious, but are they your favorite treat? Just because pastry dishes are holiday-themed doesn’t mean you have to eat all of them. One of the best ways to avoid too much holiday unhealthy eating is to avoid the foods you’re indifferent about. If it’s not one of your absolute favorites, don’t take any!
Watch Your Drinks
Alcoholic beverages are the quickest place to take in a lot of calories without thinking. Because your body converts alcohol to sugar, multiple drinks in addition to all that food can add on weight quickly. To cut down here, you can do a couple different things. First, practice the one-hand-free method. If you’re holding a drink, don’t have a plate full of food too. Second, alternate your drinks; for every festive drink you have, alternate with a glass of sparkling water.
Shop Healthy
Unfortunately, not every party you go to will have healthy options for you to focus your attention on. If you have to bring a dish with you to a party, that’s an easy way to make sure you have at least one healthy option. Be responsible for the veggie tray and make a greek yogurt-based dip for added health without a loss in flavor. Or, if you are bringing a dessert, shop Lord de Pastry’s low sugar desserts and natural cookie options. This way, you know you’ll have at least one option you can indulge in without much guilt. See our locations here and shop now!
