The holidays are an especially difficult time to watch your eating and try to lose weight. That does not mean however, that you should throw out all your good intentions and eat whatever you want. There are some simple ways to eat healthy over the holidays and enjoy your special time with family and friends.
Here to discuss healthy eating for the holidays is Tim Higgins M.S., RD, he is a certified diabetes educator and registered dietitian at Meritus Diabetes Education center.
Selected Podcast
Healthy Eating For The Holidays
Featured Speaker:
Tim Higgins, MS, RD
Tim Higgins M.S., RD, LDN, CDE working as a diabetes educator and registered dietitian at Meritus Diabetes Education center. Graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Agriculture and Environmental Science. Went on to complete a Master of Science in Nutrition at Long Island University. He has over 30 years experience working with food as a chef and registered dietitian in restaurant and healthcare settings. He has provided diabetes education in hospital and outpatient settings since 2000. He is a member of the American Diabetes Association and is a Certified Diabetes Educator. Transcription:
Healthy Eating For The Holidays
Melanie Cole (Host): The holidays are an especially difficult time to watch your eating and try to lose weight. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should throw out all of your good intentions and eat whatever you want. There are some simple ways to eat healthy over the holidays and enjoy your special time with family and friends. Here to discuss healthy eating for the holidays is Tim Higgins. He's a certified diabetes educator and registered dietician at Meritus Diabetes Education Center. Welcome to the show. Holidays are a tough time for people, watching what they eat. How do you recommend planning in advance for all those temptations that we see at these holiday parties?
Tim Higgins, MS, RD, LDN, CDE (Guest): One of the things one can do is to make sure you don’t walk in hungry. Sometimes, even something as simple as eating a few almonds and maybe drinking some water so that you're not overly thirsty and wanting to grab the first thing that you see when you go in there.
Melanie: You want to make sure that you're not hungry by eating what people see, but if there's going to be such good food at the party, “I want to eat that food there,” do you recommend eating a little something before you go to a party?
Tim: If you're not sure what's going to be there and if you want to curb your appetite, you can do that. Now, another thing is when you go to a party and you see all these treats that are out there, really avoid the ones that are not really treats – potato chips are not treats, pretzels are not treats – you have those any time any day, but if you see something that’s unusual that you rarely get to eat very often, have some. Make sure that you're also getting a good variation. If there are vegetables, or crudité, or something like that around, make sure you're having plenty of that as well.
Melanie: That's a great bit of advice to know the difference between seeing those chips and pretzels and heading straight for the Rice Krispies treats because you don't get those very often. What about alcohol? How much does that add to our calories over the holidays?
Tim: Alcohol has quite a bit of calories – a concentrated calorie source – similar to fat. A lot of people don't realize that. You want to be careful with alcohol not only for the calories but for other reasons as well that are obvious. You want to be careful, of course, if you have diabetes not to be drinking things that have a lot of carbohydrates in it like sodas and juices and things along that line.
Melanie: Should we try and steer clear of those mixers? Wine and beer or light beer, things like that, but then there are those mixers they jam in for margaritas and drinks like that that can have a load of calories.
Tim: They can. Maybe you might want to stick with some of the more basics. Maybe a little bit of white wine. You can even put a little seltzer in it and have a spritzer type of thing, so try to keep it simple.
Melanie: What about paying attention and awareness? Mindless eating is so easy, especially if you're at a party, or even if you're having your own party – you just walk past something and throw it into your mouth or you're tasting the food as you're cooking it. What about that awareness and mindless eating? What do you tell people to try and avoid that?
Tim: One of the things that I do is I want to make sure that I usually have something in my hand, something like water of some type of seltzer, or if you're going to have a drink, something that you're going to have, if it’s in your hand, it’s going to take more effort to just grab something.
Melanie: That’s a good idea. How can technology today help us watch what we’re eating at the holidays?
Tim: One of the things technology can do, if you're going to be going out to a restaurant where you know that you're going to, and especially if it’s a chain, you can go online ahead of time and pick out some items that you know will fit your goals. Another thing would be to actually track what you're eating. There are a number of programs that are available to help you track what you're eating, especially when you're at those national chain restaurants.
Melanie: One of the things we've heard about in the media is modifying holiday recipes. Do you have any good tips for modifying some of those things using fruit puree or adding applesauce into brownies that you're making, that sort of thing, to reduce the calories just a little?
Tim: There are a number of things that one can do with that. I think one of the best things to do is, again, go back to your technology and Google those things into the search box and you can come up with lots of recipes on YouTube. The media is full of actual tips that one can do to reduce the calories and so forth.
Melanie: What about exercise? During the holidays, you may not feel like. You’ve eaten a lot of turkey and you're tired, so you don’t feel like it. What do you tell people all the time about trying to include exercise into that holiday eating pattern so it doesn’t creep up on you quite so badly?
Tim: Just do it. It’s very important to keep moving. It also can help you feel a little bit better about what you're doing in terms of if you do overindulge a little bit. If you're exercising and you're keeping yourself engaged, it might be a little bit easier to avoid getting down on yourself.
Melanie: It certainly is a great way to keep track of that and bringing your healthy meals as you go so that you can really keep track of it, not try. Do you tell people not to try to lose weight during the holidays just to try and watch their weight, or maybe maintain it?
Tim: I think that’s always good advice because the holidays are not a time to try to lose weight. I think with any kind of change that someone is doing, it’s very important to set goals that are doable. If one is trying to really restrict themselves during holidays, that’s a very difficult time to do it. Avoiding gaining weight can be really a good idea, and in fact, if one were to be very careful and lose a few pounds, that’s a bonus, but trying to avoid the gain is very good advice.
Melanie: Do you have some favorite foods over the holidays that you say to people to steer clear of some of the sweets or the starchy potatoes, those kinds of things, and stick with maybe the turkey or the meats or the deviled eggs? Are there some things you like better than others?
Tim: I think that when you're staying away from the very starchy foods, especially for someone who’s trying to watch their carbohydrate intake, it’s very important to favor the vegetables. Remember, many of those foods are not really that unusual – mashed potatoes can be had any time – so maybe if you're going to have carbohydrates, have some of the ones that are not available all the time so it’s really special. There's nothing wrong with tasting a little bit of everything.
Melanie: That’s very good advice. Wrap it up for us with your best strategies for healthy holiday eating and how we can avoid putting on 5-10 pounds over the holidays.
Tim: Number one, enjoy the holidays. They're a fun time. They're a good time. Engage in it. Bring something to a party that you know you can enjoy and others can enjoy too. Keep moderation in mind and you'll feel a lot better all through the holidays.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today. This is Your Health Matter with Meritus Health. For more information, please visit meritushealth.com. That’s meritushealth.com. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Healthy Eating For The Holidays
Melanie Cole (Host): The holidays are an especially difficult time to watch your eating and try to lose weight. That doesn’t mean, however, that you should throw out all of your good intentions and eat whatever you want. There are some simple ways to eat healthy over the holidays and enjoy your special time with family and friends. Here to discuss healthy eating for the holidays is Tim Higgins. He's a certified diabetes educator and registered dietician at Meritus Diabetes Education Center. Welcome to the show. Holidays are a tough time for people, watching what they eat. How do you recommend planning in advance for all those temptations that we see at these holiday parties?
Tim Higgins, MS, RD, LDN, CDE (Guest): One of the things one can do is to make sure you don’t walk in hungry. Sometimes, even something as simple as eating a few almonds and maybe drinking some water so that you're not overly thirsty and wanting to grab the first thing that you see when you go in there.
Melanie: You want to make sure that you're not hungry by eating what people see, but if there's going to be such good food at the party, “I want to eat that food there,” do you recommend eating a little something before you go to a party?
Tim: If you're not sure what's going to be there and if you want to curb your appetite, you can do that. Now, another thing is when you go to a party and you see all these treats that are out there, really avoid the ones that are not really treats – potato chips are not treats, pretzels are not treats – you have those any time any day, but if you see something that’s unusual that you rarely get to eat very often, have some. Make sure that you're also getting a good variation. If there are vegetables, or crudité, or something like that around, make sure you're having plenty of that as well.
Melanie: That's a great bit of advice to know the difference between seeing those chips and pretzels and heading straight for the Rice Krispies treats because you don't get those very often. What about alcohol? How much does that add to our calories over the holidays?
Tim: Alcohol has quite a bit of calories – a concentrated calorie source – similar to fat. A lot of people don't realize that. You want to be careful with alcohol not only for the calories but for other reasons as well that are obvious. You want to be careful, of course, if you have diabetes not to be drinking things that have a lot of carbohydrates in it like sodas and juices and things along that line.
Melanie: Should we try and steer clear of those mixers? Wine and beer or light beer, things like that, but then there are those mixers they jam in for margaritas and drinks like that that can have a load of calories.
Tim: They can. Maybe you might want to stick with some of the more basics. Maybe a little bit of white wine. You can even put a little seltzer in it and have a spritzer type of thing, so try to keep it simple.
Melanie: What about paying attention and awareness? Mindless eating is so easy, especially if you're at a party, or even if you're having your own party – you just walk past something and throw it into your mouth or you're tasting the food as you're cooking it. What about that awareness and mindless eating? What do you tell people to try and avoid that?
Tim: One of the things that I do is I want to make sure that I usually have something in my hand, something like water of some type of seltzer, or if you're going to have a drink, something that you're going to have, if it’s in your hand, it’s going to take more effort to just grab something.
Melanie: That’s a good idea. How can technology today help us watch what we’re eating at the holidays?
Tim: One of the things technology can do, if you're going to be going out to a restaurant where you know that you're going to, and especially if it’s a chain, you can go online ahead of time and pick out some items that you know will fit your goals. Another thing would be to actually track what you're eating. There are a number of programs that are available to help you track what you're eating, especially when you're at those national chain restaurants.
Melanie: One of the things we've heard about in the media is modifying holiday recipes. Do you have any good tips for modifying some of those things using fruit puree or adding applesauce into brownies that you're making, that sort of thing, to reduce the calories just a little?
Tim: There are a number of things that one can do with that. I think one of the best things to do is, again, go back to your technology and Google those things into the search box and you can come up with lots of recipes on YouTube. The media is full of actual tips that one can do to reduce the calories and so forth.
Melanie: What about exercise? During the holidays, you may not feel like. You’ve eaten a lot of turkey and you're tired, so you don’t feel like it. What do you tell people all the time about trying to include exercise into that holiday eating pattern so it doesn’t creep up on you quite so badly?
Tim: Just do it. It’s very important to keep moving. It also can help you feel a little bit better about what you're doing in terms of if you do overindulge a little bit. If you're exercising and you're keeping yourself engaged, it might be a little bit easier to avoid getting down on yourself.
Melanie: It certainly is a great way to keep track of that and bringing your healthy meals as you go so that you can really keep track of it, not try. Do you tell people not to try to lose weight during the holidays just to try and watch their weight, or maybe maintain it?
Tim: I think that’s always good advice because the holidays are not a time to try to lose weight. I think with any kind of change that someone is doing, it’s very important to set goals that are doable. If one is trying to really restrict themselves during holidays, that’s a very difficult time to do it. Avoiding gaining weight can be really a good idea, and in fact, if one were to be very careful and lose a few pounds, that’s a bonus, but trying to avoid the gain is very good advice.
Melanie: Do you have some favorite foods over the holidays that you say to people to steer clear of some of the sweets or the starchy potatoes, those kinds of things, and stick with maybe the turkey or the meats or the deviled eggs? Are there some things you like better than others?
Tim: I think that when you're staying away from the very starchy foods, especially for someone who’s trying to watch their carbohydrate intake, it’s very important to favor the vegetables. Remember, many of those foods are not really that unusual – mashed potatoes can be had any time – so maybe if you're going to have carbohydrates, have some of the ones that are not available all the time so it’s really special. There's nothing wrong with tasting a little bit of everything.
Melanie: That’s very good advice. Wrap it up for us with your best strategies for healthy holiday eating and how we can avoid putting on 5-10 pounds over the holidays.
Tim: Number one, enjoy the holidays. They're a fun time. They're a good time. Engage in it. Bring something to a party that you know you can enjoy and others can enjoy too. Keep moderation in mind and you'll feel a lot better all through the holidays.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today. This is Your Health Matter with Meritus Health. For more information, please visit meritushealth.com. That’s meritushealth.com. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.