5 Tips for Eating Your Way Through a Happy & Healthy Holiday Party
By Allie Helein, Guest Blogger
It’s finally December and our houses are stocked with homemade candies and our calendars are full with festivities to celebrate the season. For many, it is a season of family gatherings, catching up with old friends, and traditions that come only once a year. But for those with health goals, the pressure to choose between enjoying holiday foods and the goals you have been working towards for months can make the season stressful. Well, I am here to tell you that you don’t have to choose between your health and holiday fun!
Maybe you’ve heard that you are supposed to keep tempting, high-calorie foods out of the house. Out of sight, out of mind, right? It can be easier to make decisions in line with our goals when we aren’t constantly tempted with treats. However, we can’t always control which food and drinks are around us, especially during the holiday season. A perfect example of this is the holiday party. With its endless array of circulating appetizers and flowing drinks, the holiday party can challenge even the most committed of healthy eaters.
Is stress over healthy eating ruining your holiday spirit? Are you worried the holiday season will derail your health goal progress? Take action! There are things you can do to make the most of the holiday season, while continuing to make progress on your goals. With these 5 tips, it can truly be the most wonderful time of the year.
1. Set yourself up for success
Stick to your routine the day of the event and the days leading up to it. Get enough sleep, eat your normal foods, and continue your weekly physical activity. Both stress and lack of sleep can make you want those high-calorie foods even more2, so anything you can do to destress before the event can help you make more thoughtful food choices.
2. Bring your favorite nutritious dish as a dish to pass
You might not know exactly what is going to be on the appetizer table at your holiday gathering. This can be stressful! So, bring your own dish. If you’re going to a potluck-style holiday party, bringing your own dish can help you feel more prepared and give you another option to add to your plate.
3. Keep an eye on those beverages
Wine, coquito, eggnog, oh my! There is no shortage of delicious holiday beverages to choose from. Many of our favorite holiday drinks contain a lot of sugar and calories. Standing around socializing, it feels natural to be sipping on something and we do it almost absent-mindedly. This holiday season, don’t avoid your favorites but keep high-calorie drinks in check by having a smaller glass or alternating with water.
4. Eat mindfully
Holiday parties not only provide bite-sized foods and deliver drinks right where you’re standing, but they encourage absent-minded eating and drinking. Practice being present in conversations. Focus on the people around you, listen closely to what is said, and ask questions. See if you can learn something new or meet someone you haven’t met before.
Have you ever noticed that after a dinner with friends, you’re in a better mood than after you eat alone? Eating with others can make you feel better, and this mood boost may actually help you make more thoughtful choices of what you are eating and how much3,4. When you are socially eating, remember to check in with yourself from time to time. What did you just eat? Did it taste good? And finally, ask yourself if you are full.
5. Be kind to yourself
Remember the progress you have made in your health goals this year and reframe your mindset! Instead of thinking about denying or limiting any foods and drinks, focus on trying new things and finding new favorites. The holiday season will not make or break your health journey, so enjoy the time with family and friends and be gentle with yourself this holiday season.
(1) Rolando G. Díaz-Zavala, María F. Castro-Cantú, Mauro E. Valencia, Gerardo Álvarez-Hernández, Michelle M. Haby, Julián Esparza-Romero, “Effect of the Holiday Season on Weight Gain: A Narrative Review”, Journal of Obesity, vol. 2017, Article ID 2085136, 13 pages, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/2085136
(2) Bhutani, S., Wells, N., Finlayson, G. et al. Change in eating pattern as a contributor to energy intake and weight gain during the winter holiday period in obese adults. Int J Obes 44, 1586–1595 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-020-0562-2
(3)Aguiar-Bloemer AC, Diez-Garcia RW. Influence of emotions evoked by life events on food choice. Eat Weight Disord. 2018 Feb;23(1):45-53. doi: 10.1007/s40519-017-0468-8. Epub 2017 Dec 28. PMID: 29285746.
(4) Dunbar, R.I.M. Breaking Bread: the Functions of Social Eating. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology3, 198–211 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40750-017-0061-4
Allie Helein is a graduate student and dietetic intern at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR. Allie has degrees in Nutrition and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and strives to highlight the relationship between nutrition and mental health. Allie is a foodie at heart and advocates for the incorporation of all foods into a healthy lifestyle.
