No matter which Holiday you celebrate, you are probably on school break or will be very soon for a week or more. Treats from grandma, your mom (or dad!) and other family, friends, and neighbors are suddenly more available than at any other time of year. Some of these foods may be a yearly tradition in your family like fruitcake, latkas, coconut pie, or boxes of chocolates.

Here are some tips for trying to keep your weight in check while at the same time enjoying the Holiday food.

1. Savor every bite. Select only one piece of a treat and savor it by eating it as slowly as you can. Think about how it tastes and appreciate the flavor before taking another bite. There is a lag time of about 20 minutes between when your brain receives the message from your stomach and when it is actually full. Thus, if you eat more slowly, you are allowing your body to more accurately tell when you are full or not.

2. Choose whom you eat with. Do you typically eat more while you are alone or with other people? Your answer may depend on whom you are actually eating with. Maybe you have friends that don’t understand why you are watching what you eat. If you are pressured to eat when you are around these types of people, try to avoid eating during these times. If, on the other hand, you are more self conscious when eating around other people, then eating around these people may provide an incentive to limit your treats during the Holiday break. Maybe even the family dog makes you more aware of how much you are eating and urges you to take him (or her) on a walk!

3. More fluids. Drink more fluids to fill up and reduce your temptation for extra treats. Not just any fluids though. Try to stick to water, milk, unsweetened tea, or other unsweetened drinks. We often think of getting dehydrated during the hot summer weather, but we can become dehydrated in the winter too, especially if we are not taking in enough fluids while exercising. Which brings us to the last tip!

4. Exercise. Lastly, you’ll feel better about sampling these once a year treats if you make an extra effort to get out (or stay indoors) to exercise. For tips on exercising during the cold winter days, click here.  Think of fun activities for you and your friends and family to get moving too.  Make it simple, like take a walk or bike ride.  Schedule a time and activity and stick to it. You are more likely to keep exercising when you have a few exercise buddies to talk to and have fun.

Make this a healthy week!

 (Click here for past week's tips)