Holidays are a time for enjoying sweet treats and partaking in meals with family and friends, which may deter you from your normal dieting routine. But maintaining a healthy and consistent holiday eating is a critical component of athletic performance. Holiday feasts, desserts, and festivities could have a potential negative impact on exercise recovery and athletic performance if they sway too far from your typical routine. But, they don’t have to. Our athlete’s guide for holiday eating will help you keep your fitness goals on track in these upcoming months while still indulging in the holidays.
NeuroForce1 is one of Scottsdale’s leading performance facilities that not only focuses on members’ physical performance, but their nutritional efficiency. Year-round nutritional awareness is important to not compromise your personal health and performance goals. Read our blog post below for our advice on healthy holiday eating this season.
Holiday Eating In Moderation
Maintaining mindful holiday eating does not have to mean cutting out those delicious Christmas cookies altogether. Using the 80/20 rule can keep you on track when monitoring holiday indulgences. This means eating purposeful, nutritional meals and snacks 80% of the time while splurging on holiday treats the other 20% of the time. Remember that more is not always merrier.
Stay Hydrated
Eggnog and holiday spirits aren’t enough hydration to keep your athletic goals on track this holiday season. Drinking plenty of water should be an important part of your holiday eating regimen. Alcohol and other beverages provide nutrient void calories, while drinking water before each meal will curb your appetite and keep you from overindulging. Aim for 8-10 cups of fluid each day especially during outside activities.
Keep Your Holiday Eating Schedule Consistent
Skipping meals throughout the day to “save up” for a big holiday dinner later in the evening can lead to overeating. It is important to maintain your regular schedule of three balanced meals and small snacks throughout the day. Holiday eating exemplifies the popular adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Starting your holiday with lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fat will help you avoid food cravings and low blood sugar crashes that would inevitably throw your eating goals off track.
Give The Gift of Healthy Holiday Eating
When deciding what to bring to the holiday party, make something to share that is consistent with your healthy eating goals. Fruit platters, seasonal hummus, and greek yogurt holiday bark are all crowd favorites that add nutritional value to your holiday spread.
Give Yourself Some Space
We tend to eat less treats and snacks when they are out of sight and out of mind, or at least out of reach. Try to keep at least 6 feet between you and the treats to make impulse snacking less tempting.
Stay Positive About Your Holiday Eating Choices
Try not to let feelings of guilt take away from your holiday cheer when enjoying the foods you love. Give yourself permission to enjoy all the treats the holiday season has to offer without self-criticism or regret. Healthy eating shouldn’t take the “happy” out of “happy holidays.”
Plan your Holiday Eating with NeuroForce1
NeuroForce1 is one of the Valley’s top training facilities that helps optimize the health of our members. When you partner with NeuroForce1, you will be given comprehensive support and guidance in creating a nutritional plan. We work closely with each one of our members to help them understand their body and build a dietary regimen plan that brings their health goals to fruition, 365 days a year.
Visit our Nutrition page and learn about NF1’s incredible nutrition plans.
