Chef’s Tips on How to Avoid the Eat-All-You-Can Attitude During the Holiday Season
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Christmas is fast approaching; parties are happening everywhere; food and alcohol are flowing; and the calories keep piling up.
If there is one thing that we, chefs, love as much as cooking foods is eating them, and the holiday season gives us just the excuse to have an eat-all-you-can attitude. Who would not love to eat good food anyway when we are in the company of people we love to be around with? Furthermore, good food is better shared when there is good conversation, right?
The Good and the Bad of the Holiday Season
The Good: Holiday season is the time to be with our loved ones. This is the time wherein we catch up on the stories of not only our family and relatives but our friends as well.
There are families, friends, and relatives to visit; parties to enjoy; family events and activities to attend to; concerts to watch; church activities to go to; and a whole lot more. All of these end at one thing – the sharing of food at our homes or at somebody else’s house. Either way, there is bound to be good food to enjoy.
The Bad: Yes, all the food that we eat is bound to go somewhere; hence, the extra 5 or 10 kilograms that we gain come the holiday season. It is so easy to eat and enjoy good food that we tend to forget that it is so difficult to lose the extra pounds we gained. It is only after the holiday season that we notice how our clothes tightly fit us, compared to last year’s.
After the holiday season, the list also comes out; that age-old New Year’s resolution list. At the top of the list is the ever-present “need to lose weight fast,” next comes “diet” and “exercise.”
However, this is avoidable if we only know how to avoid the eat-all-you-can attitude.
No to Eat-All-You-Can Attitude
As stated above, the eat-all-you-can attitude can be avoided if we know what to do. For this reason, here are some important tips on how we can avoid the extra pounds this Christmas season.
- Start the day right with whole grain breakfast. Not only can this give us a more satisfying breakfast, but this will also help boost metabolism and burn calories faster. It can be bland-tasting, but we could always dress it up with fruits.
- Load up on vegetables and fruits. Vegetables and fruits this holiday season when we can have meats and sweets seems so boring, but if you want to avoid overeating, then load up on greens and fruits. These are rich in fibers and other nutrients, which can help our digestive process better. These can also help our bodies eliminate bad fat. Furthermore, munching on them, especially when we are hungry, can lessen food cravings.
- Drink plenty of liquids. No, not sodas, soft drinks, beverages, or alcohol, but water. Just plain old water. Not only can water help maintain the body’s balance, but it also helps cleanse our bodies. With lots of good food on the table, we will definitely need to drink plenty of water to remove excess sugar and toxins from our bodies.
- Know the 80/20 rule. I know, the holiday season is really never complete if we have not had our fill of good food. For this reason, let the 80/20 rule help us. In a nutshell, this simply means 80% of our diet the whole day is composed of healthy foods, while the 20% is given to eating whatever it is that we want to eat.
- Enjoy the food. When we are eating the foods that we want to eat, be sure to enjoy it and give thanks, too, for all the blessings we received this year.
These simple tips are easy enough to follow. There will be temptations throughout the holiday season to simply eat all that we want to eat, but if you do not want the pain of losing weight after the holiday season, then be sure to follow these simple tips.
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Australian Chef- Matthew J. Goudge is the mastermind behind the formation of the ProChef360 platform.
Its certainly an issue isn’t it. Very good advice you’ve put together here Matthew, exercise is the key which seems kinda crazy after a 10 hour shift, but its the only way I can keep the weight off – don’t think its an option to not eat some of this great tukka
Have a fabulous Christmas Chef…. lots of fun, laughter & take care.
Cheers Anna
Anna Johnston recently posted..THAT’S IT! I’M DONE! I SURVIVED!
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