The Holidays and Your Gut

     I can't wait to hear the complaints from everyone saying the Holidays are going to KILL their diets and cause weight-gain.  For one, no...the Holidays don't directly cause you to gain weight. You and your lack of self control are what makes you gain weight.  There are ways to turn those negative thoughts about Holiday foods into positive ones.  For one, PORTIONS, portions, portions.  Instead of loading your plate full of food, and making a second trip because the plate can't fit it all, take a little bit of the healthy stuff.  WHITE meat of the turkey.  Instead of loading it with tons of gravy, load it with the natural juices the turkey makes while cooking.  Instead of having candy yams, make some baked sweet potatoes.  Make homemade cranberry sauce where you can control the amount of sugar that goes into it.  Have green beans instead of the green been casserole that's loaded with fat.  Only have a teeny tiny taste of stuffing.  One roll, please; and instead of butter, dip in in the juices you have from the turkey. Dessert...well you're on your own because I NEVER skip it or anything in that category that is remotely chocolate.

     Yes, most of y'all have probably heard all of these tips a million times before.  To be honest, I'm pretty tired of hearing all of the hullabaloo, too!  But one thing I never thought about is the alcohol you consume during the Holidays.  I mean, you've got the spiked slushies (MMMM...this is a tradition in my family), spiked Eggnog, wine, champagne, beer, various liquors, etc.  I swear, my family is not a bunch of alcoholics...we just have eclectic tastes when it comes to our beverages!

     When I think of it, it's so true!  I probably drink at least the value of half of my Thanksgiving meal throughout the day.  By cutting that down AND using the tips on my meal above, I've cut my caloric intake for the day tremendously.  I really recommend y'all read this article from the New York Times online (can you tell I like them as a source of information?!).  It has all the statistics about how much people drink every day on average, and it explains all about how those added calories in alcohol really can affect your weight-gain.  Really good read overall, especially if you're trying to be calorie-conscious over this Holiday season!

Hope this helps y'all out!
Tory

PS-the article I used!
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/the-not-so-hidden-calories-from-alcohol/