Surviving the Holiday Season

This is the presentation that was done last night at the support group meeting at Sentara Careplex. Hope this helps.....enjoy the holiday.... *********************************************************** Surviving the Holiday Season Becky Eason, Registered Dietitian Weightloss Surgery Center of Hampton Roads The Good News is... We don't gain as much weight during the holidays as we often anticipate. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that the average American only gains around one pound during the holiday season. Less than 10% of the study participants gained five pounds or more. The Bad News is... Although most people only gained one pound during the holidays, that one pound was not lost during the rest of the year. Researchers identified two factors that influenced weight gain during this time: Level of hunger Level of activity What does this tell us? We need to control our hunger. How can we do this? Do not skip meals - Try to stay on your regular schedule for eating. Balance your meals: Make good food choices throughout the day - don't try and "store up" calories for a party or event. Plan ahead: Pack healthy snacks when heading to the mall to avoid a poor choice at the food court. What else does the study tell us? Placing activity on the back burner, even for a short time, does make a difference. It is important to find something to sacrifice rather than time at the gym. Find some extra time by: Getting up a little earlier. Baking ahead and freezing foods. Taping your favorite shows to view after the holidays, or exercising during the show! Exercise must be a priority Start a New Holiday Tradition: Host an annual Thanksgiving Day flag football or kickball game. Have the Thanksgiving meal early and invite friends and family to join you for a game later in the afternoon. Take the family ice skating on Christmas. After the meal, go on a long walk or have a snow ball fight when the weather allows. What about us social butterflys? Surviving the Holidays Key: Focus on and anticipate the SOCIALIZATION of the event rather than the FOOD offered at the event Holiday Party Tips Scan the entire buffet before you make your food choices. Have a rating system: if the food is not a 10 on your scale, don't put it on your plate. Only make one trip through the line. No standing by the table nibbling! Start by eating lower calorie foods like vegetables to help curb initial appetite. Offer to bring a dish you know you can have! More Party Tips Skip the Alcohol: The average alcoholic drink contains 150-200 calories per glass. If you indulge in one or two of these you can easily drink the calories recommended for an entire meal. One 8 ounce glass of traditional alcoholic eggnog often contains 450+ calories!!! Alcohol can also increase your appetite and alter your judgment. Are you the Host? When hosting a get together, offer low calorie food and drink options. Plan ahead and gather containers so you can send all the leftovers home with guests. Out of sight, out of mind: If you do not give the leftovers away, freeze them in small portions to have another day. Recipe Modifications Try some new recipes! Instead of giving up your favorites, make some changes to the recipe to lower the calorie, fat, or sugar content of the food. Traditional Holiday Foods TURKEY TIPS: Choose turkey without the skin. As a general rule, white meat is leaner than dark meat, so choose a breast rather than a drumstick. Use a fat separator for the roasting pan juices and skim off all the fat before making the gravy. You can add a dry package of turkey gravy mix if you want more flavor and thickening. COMPARISONS CHOICE OF MEAT: 3 oz dark meat, with skin: 200 calories 3 oz white meat without skin: 130 calories PREPARATION OF GRAVY: ¼ c Traditional turkey gravy: 76 calories ¼ c Gravy (fat skimmed from juices): 14 calories Traditional Holiday Foods POTATOES: Mash the potatoes with chicken broth and skim milk instead of butter and sour cream. Use pineapple or orange juice thickened with corn starch as a glaze for sweet potatoes. VEGETABLES: For a healthier green bean casserole, use fat free half & half or low fat canned soup and top with almonds instead of fried onion rings. PUMPKIN PIE: Make pies with canned, evaporated, skimmed milk. Use sugar substitute or use half the sugar in the recipe (brown sugar may be a better choice as it is more flavorful). Add additional spices for extra flavor. Use fat free whipped topping. Eat the filling, skip the crust! COMPARISONS PUMPKIN PIE: Traditional pie/whipped cream: 450 calories Pumpkin pie, made with evaporation skim milk and ⅓ less sugar: 142 calories CANDIED YAMS: Traditional candied yams (⅔ c): 250 calories Modified candied yams (⅔ c), made with pineapple and orange juice: 105 calories STUFFING: Instead of stuffing the turkey, bake the stuffing in a casserole dish. This will significantly decrease calories by reducing the amount of fat absorbed. Sauté onions and celery in a very small amount of margarine and use chicken broth for additional moisture. Replace ⅓ of the bread with vegetables. Cooking Tips Cut calories by decreasing the oil or sugar by ⅓. You can usually do this without having a major effect on the final product. Steam vegetables in a small amount of water to prevent loss of flavor and nutrients. Use the leftover water when preparing another dish. To remove fat from soups, stews or drippings: Let them form a solid and scoop off the fat. Or, when cool, add ice cubes and the fat will stick. Cooking Tips-Substitutions 1 Whole Egg 2 Egg Whites Sour Cream Low Fat Plain Yogurt or Low fat Sour Cream Heavy Cream Evaporated skim milk Oil Equal amount applesauce or other fruit puree 1 oz unsweetened chocolate 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder Pay attention to your emotions Stressed is just desserts spelled backward! If you are a stress eater, work on developing healthier coping mechanisms. For some people, holidays bring up painful emotions. Identifying stressors and preparing for them will help you avoid negative behaviors. Recruit a friend or family member to help keep you accountable. Eating this Holiday Season KEY: Remember, the calories add up! When you munch on rich casseroles and desserts all day, a bite of this and that can add up to a lot of unwanted calories by the end of the day! KEY: Stick with your routine: Three meals and maybe one snack a day. KEY: If you eat too much, too fast, or the wrong foods, you will not enjoy your holiday - Be smart so that you will have positive memories of this time! ENJOY THE SEASON! Jill

This is so very helpful .The comparisons really helped me . I will never forget my first year out post op .. OMG I thought I would die ... so many decisions to make and knowing what to choose but wanting to make the wrong choices .. Thank you so much for presenting this .. I know I will definatly take head .. Hugs , Natalie

Jill- Wow....this is great! Thanks...this is my first holiday season post-op and I was starting to get a little nervous! Christina S

WOW Jill! I cannot believe you retyped all of the presentation... great job. I thought that there was a lot of great information presented at the meeting...ecspecially for someone new like me! It was so nice to meet both you and Kelli at the group. Thanks for all of the great info you shared with me!!!