Avoid Holiday Weight Gain.
These include the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) into the food supply, increased portion sizes and eating more than half our meals away from home.
I always advocate preparing your own meals whenever you can. Making your own meals saves you time and money. You also know exactly what goes into everything you prepare.
Especially around the holidays, you’ll probably attend numerous luncheons, dinner parties, and other social events that restaurants will cater. If you’re traveling, you will probably also eat out at sometimes less-than-stellar choices.
Dining out can be a pleasurable experience and a welcome deviation from cooking.
To enjoy restaurant dining without weight gain be especially prepared.
Even if you choose farm-to-table restaurants or fine dining, you can never know exactly what will go into your food. Gluten and other food sensitivities, as well as inflammatory vegetable oils, are among the many problem ingredients you’ll face in restaurants.
Eating out often leads to eating too much and weight gain. But as awareness grows and the needs of health-conscious diners are met, menu options are changing. Nutritionally intelligent choices are now available.
Keeping core principles in mind will allow you to avoid weight gain on any occasion.
- Be very clear about your needs.
- Choose the restaurant when you can.
- Request a “crudités platter,” fresh fruit, or olives as a starter instead of the breadbasket.
- Drink water before your meals.
- Be very specific about gluten and dairy intolerances.
- Careful with the dressings.
- Stop when you’re 80 percent full.
- Ask for berries for dessert. Berries provide sweetness without the sugar overload. Enjoy your nutrient-rich berries guilt-free.
- Slow down and savor your food helps.
- Enjoy ethnic cuisine.
To get additional guidance on eating out, download the Restaurant Rescue Guide.
If you dine out, do terms like “organic” or “free-range” determine whether you will select a restaurant? Share your thoughts below.
Wishing you health and happiness,
Mark Hyman, MD
Original Publication Date Dec 16, 2016
12 thoughts on “Avoid Weight Gain This Holiday Season”
Great article, Dr. Ho!
Thank you. I am quite pleased that you liked it.
Hi Dr. Ho! Thank you so much for this! Def a very useful set of tips this coming holiday season!!!
YOu are so very welcome
Very informative article. thank you very much
I am glad to hear that you found benefit.
Hi Elise Cohen Ho mam, Great it looks good for health… Yes it is true if we prepare our food on our own we know what we are exactly eating and it is good for health as well…Thanks for sharing.
I am so pleased that you have found useful tips. It certainly is true that we have much more knowledge when we prepare our own foods.
Excellent tips and that vegetable hash looks wonderful! I love to cook so don’t go out to restaurants that often anyway. On top of that there’s my niece’s influence as a result of her advocacy work on behalf of farm animals (well ALL animals) has me rarely indulging in meat these days so there’s been a lot of experimenting going on in my kitchen. 🙂
It sounds as if you would really benefit from many vegetarian recipes. There are bunches of good ones on their way.
This is an awesome post Elise, thank you 🙂
Also, I really like what you have done with the blog. I will see you again soon!
Matt.
Thank you on both counts. I am really pleased with how it is coming along.
Comments are closed.