How to Curb Your Appetite at Holiday Meals
| Looking for a few ways to help you curb your appetite so you don’t overeat and pack on the pounds? Holiday meals can be a great temptation for anyone that’s trying to lose weight. Those yummy dishes are extremely hard to resist. |
One thing that will help is to change the way you view things. Don’t lose sight of the true meaning of the holiday season. Festive holiday dinners are as much about socializing and enjoying the people around you as they are about the food you’ll be consuming!
Before you start digging into your feast, think about the associations you have with food and why you have them. Remember that food is supposed to be medicinal. It’s supposed to be life sustaining; to feed the essence of your body to better support your spirit and life force. After you’ve gained a little perspective, here are a few more tips to help curb your appetite and keep you from stuffing your face. How to Curb Your Appetite at Holiday Meals
Instead of starving yourself all day long before a big meal, it’ll be easier to curb your appetite during dinner if you eat a healthy snack or a light meal beforehand. Have a bowl of cereal or oatmeal, munch on a fiber bar, cook up a couple of eggs, or snack on some other high protein/low calorie food to help keep you from being ravenous at the meal. If you’re famished, you be much more likely to overeat during your meal. Take probiotics before you eat. Digestive enzymes help increase the good bacteria (flora) in your large intestines that assist with proper elimination. Look for supplements that contain at least 1-2 billion active enzymes per serving. When you know you’ll be eating a large meal, probiotics are even more important. Fresh pineapple contains a protein digesting enzyme called bromelain. The more you consume, the better your digestion will be. Raw, fresh pineapple (cooked or canned pineapple don't contain bromelain) can be consumed before or during your meal to help you body digest your food, especially high protein foods like turkey, ham, or beef! Drink water before any meal to help curb your appetite. It helps you feel a bit full before you start chowing down. Alternately, keep liquids to a minimum during your meal. At any meal, you want to fill up on food, not liquids. If you don’t like that overstuffed feeling, liquids should be kept to a minimum during meals and should instead, be consumed before or after you eat. Munch on negative calorie foods during your meal. Foods that have negative calories require more energy to consume than the calories found in them. In other words, they fill you up, not out! Grapefruit, apple, lettuce, celery, broccoli and cabbage are a few examples of negative calorie foods that help you slim down. Most of the time, they have fewer calories when they’re eaten raw. Raw foods also stimulate metabolism. Eat your food slowly. Digestion actually starts in your mouth. Your saliva contains salivary amalase, which is a digestive enzyme. The better you chew your food, the smaller the food particles, the better you'll digest what you eat. This boost in digestion really cuts down on tummy aches that many people experience after a big meal. Eat in an orderly fashion to help curb your appetite. The more alert, composed, and aware you are when you’re eating, the slower you’re bound to eat. The slower you eat, the faster you'll get full. Cut your food up into small bite sized pieces and don’t overfill your fork. Enjoy the conversations around you and slow down your breathing to help you get a grip on how much you’re eating.
People who pray more eat less. Saying a simple prayer, whatever your spiritual beliefs, (before you start loading food up on your plate), helps to calm you down so you’re not racing to load up your plate. A calm spirit waits patiently for others to help themselves first. Eat lots of lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables, which are lower in fat and calories than carbohydrates. Omit bread if you can. Wheat gluten is a real trouble-maker when it comes to weight gain. Gluten slows down digestion and can make you feel overly full, even when you’re not. Even though you love to watch the games, try to eat with your family instead. Most people tend to overeat when they’re watching TV. It’s much easier to unintentionally stuff your face if you’re not paying attention. Talk more. When you’re running your mouth, you’re not eating, which is a great way to slow down food consumption and curb your appetite. Before loading up your plate for second helpings, take a few moments to relax or get up and walk around. The more time you give your stomach to catch up with your feelings of fullness, the less likely you’ll be tempted to overeat. Moderation is always key to help curb your appetite. It’s alright to eat some of the fatty foods you love, but don’t overdo it. Eat a little of this and a little of that, instead of a lot of this and a lot of that. Too many carbohydrates fill you up AND out! They are also responsible for most of the sleepy and overstuffed feelings you have after a large meal. Instead of loading up on carbs, try eating more lean protein, vegetables, and fruit. A low carb diet gives you energy. A high carb diet zaps energy. Save room for dessert, but opt for healthier choices like pumpkin pie or fruit pie. If you just can’t live without high calorie desserts like pecan pie, just have a smaller slice. You can also choose to take your dessert home for later, when you’ve had a little time to digest more. Instead of having dessert, get moving! Go for a nice stroll around the neighborhood or get your family involved in a game of touch football, basketball or bocce ball. Any activity that gets your mind off of food is a great way to end any meal. Brush your teeth immediately after eating or chew on a piece of mint gum. You are far less likely to keep munching after meals if you have fresh breath. Have a cup of hot tea or hot cider after you eat. Any fat you eat during a meal will turn solid if you drink cold beverages after your meal. However fats are better assimilated by your body if you don’t give them a chance to congeal. Hot liquids after meals help dissolve and flush fats from your body. If you do overeat, don’t punish yourself. If it’s just for one day, let it go. Life is too short to be stuck on feelings of guilt. Humans will never be perfect! Do however, get back on track with your weight loss goals the very next day though! Don’t stress about holiday meals with family and friends! Relax and enjoy the time you have off from work. Even in a bad economy, you should still make time for you. When you learn to curb your appetite, you’ll also find you have more control over your life in general. You’ll be so much healthier and happier in the long run!
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