Reaching for Comfort Food? How not to Gain Weight over the Holidays
As the weather is getting colder everyone starts reaching for the comfort food. Unfortunately most of us don’t reach for “skinny” comfort food. Usually we reach for the starchy, sweet and creamy and in doing so we gain some extra weight. A little extra weight over the winter is a perfectly natural thing, provides a little more insulation against the elements. But if you had enough padding already and don’t need to add some, then it’s time to rethink comfort foods or at least do some behavior modification:
- Have just one bite – Remember how awesome the taste is of that first delicious bite of pumpkin pie? Do the rest of the bites have the same impact? Probably not. The biggest kick is in that first bite. So savor the first bite (or two or three), but once you’ve lost that initial oomph, put the rest aside.
- Move more – You can buy yourself some wiggle room by adding some extra exercise to your day. Know you’re going out for a big meal? Throw in an extra bout of cardio or weights to burn off some extra ahead of time. It may also put you in a more healthy mindset that you don’t really want to undo by binging on junk.
- Pick your Poison – Love, love, love pumpkin pie but only so-so about the whip cream? Have it plain then. Not a fan of stuffing but love yams? Take one and not the other. Be selective and be moderate.
- Healthy alternatives – No one wants to feel deprived, especially over the holidays. Here are some healthier swaps for some of your favourites:
Healthier comfort food recipes:
Replace high fat cream soups with our Cream of Squash Soup
Replace regular pumpkin pie with our Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Replace apple pie with a Baked Apple
Replace milkshakes with Fresh Fruit Smoothies