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My Advice for "Holiday Eating"
Health | December 15, 2016
Well it’s almost here. We are near the peak of the holiday season (if you happen to be celebrating, which you might not). Thanksgiving is over and Santa-time is just ramping up. Whatever your beliefs and/or traditions are, it’s times like these that can really wreak havoc on your diet and exercise routines. Travel, business, extra obligations, holiday goodies, family meals, parties, a tight budget, and stress can all have a negative affect on your health.
Usually during this time of the year I see magazines and the internet flooded with articles pedaling holiday “diet plans”. They often have titles like, How to Survive the Holidays Without Gaining Weight or 10 Quick and Easy Substitutes for Unhealthy Holiday Favorites. Some articles say it’s ok to eat a big meal here and there but try to avoid alcohol and extra snacks. Some might say that you can go crazy on desserts if you keep your regular meals in check. Others maybe say that as long as you do everything in moderation and up your cardio you won’t gain a pound.
Personally, I can’t get with all that nonsense. It all seems pretty clear to me. Here’s my take on “holiday eating”:
Go ahead and binge if that’s what you want to do. Yup, seriously. BUT, if you do, you’re going to have to but on your big girl (or boy!) pants and just accept the fact that you’re going to feel awful and guilty. If you DO feel awful and guilty, you can use all that anger and disappointment to push yourself harder than you ever have before in the new year. You can make a fresh start and turn all those negative feelings into motivation.
If you DON’T want to feel awful and guilty, then stick to your regular diet and exercise routines.
It’s that simple!
Here’s Why You Feel BAD
When you overeat you feel awful afterwards for a variety of reasons. First, psychologically, like I mentioned above, you might feel guilty or regretful or disappointed in yourself. A high level of fitness is not something that is gotten without a good amount of sacrifice and very hard work. It takes time, money, energy, focus, drive, and, sometimes, even pain to complete difficult workouts daily and prepare and eat a healthful foods. When you binge on processed carbs and sugar it can make you feel like you’ve thrown all those hours and hours of hard work away on something that was enjoyable for about 10 minutes.
Physically, a binge on junk can actually throw your whole body chemistry way off track. Bingeing on sugar can cause your insulin levels to spike to help control your blood sugar levels. Once the insulin helps absorb the excess sugar, your blood sugar levels drop dramatically and you crash. A blood sugar crash will leave you exhausted and miserable. And cyclical binges and crashes can lead to chronic fatigue, liver problems, and even diabetes. Sugar’s bad for you skin, too. It causes wrinkles and acne. (I wrote an article about it, you can read it here.)
We all know what happens when you drink too much. A hangover can feel bad but it actually really messes with your body. Over drinking can cause inflammation of the lining of your stomach, dehydration, sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, and electrolyte imbalances. Too much alcohol can also disturb chemicals in your brain causing broken sleep patterns and mood disturbances. (I wrote an a article all about drinking, too. You can read it here.)
And let’s talk about the real villain, highly processed carbs. They look so small and innocent sitting out there on the appetizer table, those little salmon puffs or pepperoni roll-ups. First and foremost, highly processed carbs cause inflammation in your body. Chronic inflammation can lead to illnesses, fatigue, even heart attacks and strokes.
Researchers have even discovered that eating a bunch of processed food can cause your gut bacteria to get all out of whack. A 2016 study published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research conducted a rat study to determine what happens to gut bacteria when processed foods are introduced. Researchers divided the rats into three groups. The first group ate healthy rat chow only. The second group cycled between processed junky human food and rat chow. The third group ate only the junk. Both groups that ate the junk had totally different kinds of gut bacteria than the rat chow group. When your gut bacteria is thrown off it can lead to a whole host of problems, including problems with digestion, allergies, metabolism, depression, and anxiety.
And guess what? The rats that cycled between the junk and rat chow? They totally binged on the junk every time. They weren’t able to practice their “holiday moderation”, haha.
So, like I said, it all seems pretty simple to me. Do it and feel yuck or don’t and feel good. If you end up feeling bad and regretful, make it your warrior fuel come January 1st, 2017.
Happy Holidays!
Love, Zuzka
Sources: Harvard Health Publications, Self Magazine, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, The Atlantic
Private Member |
québec, canada
More than just feeling guilty, what I found out that processed carbs really make a huge difference in my mood and energy levels. When I eat low carb, I sleep better, and I don’t feel the need of an afternoon nap (no energy drops after dinner). Eating too many carbs make me feel sluggish, not motivated to do anything.
The other day, we were celebrating my nephew’s 4th anniversary and I ate cake, chips, some candies. My heart was pounding like crazy after this, even if I was sitting. Very weird feeling.
In my opinion, I would feel resentful for not tasting what I want to for Christmas, and since it’s only one day, I will taste and enjoy it. But I promise myself to watch the size of my plate, and to avoid to binge in the desserts. Won’t be easy because I used to binge a lot on tasty food until recently, and this explains the size of my waist.
Private Member |
mont-saint-hilaire, quebec, canada
Love this article !!! Well said 🎄🎁🎅
Private Member |
st. peter, minnesota, usa
Thanks for the article! I’m not really there yet in terms of diet…ok, not at all. I am getting into the habit of daily exercise again. In the past (before some serious life changes that threw everything off for me) I was in a habit of daily exercise and good eating, but I never could stick with clean eating for more than a month and half at a time. I would always cave after weeks of watching my family members eat ice cream and chocolates every day, while I sat there eating something much less tasty. Maybe I need to print out some of those health issues you wrote about and hang them in the eating areas!
As far as holiday eating goes, unless the meals are at my house (which this year they are) I cannot partake in most of it due to celiac disease and various food allergies, so that often helps me, lol.
Private Member |
I do binge on holidays; however, I do a combo of ‘clean cheating’… gluten free, deserts I make…
and also some junkier foods I love….e.g. local tamales, and a box of Godiva!
If I don’t allow myself to ‘EAT, DRINK, & BE MERRY’ on holidays, I end up binging after. So I just surrender into it.
But, I get back on track after fairly quick. I think that’s key because I’m not continuing to eat this way for weeks after..maybe a few days though.
I do not feel guilty….because, the rest of the year, other than vacation or holidays, I stay on track. I’ve always been that way for years. I work out each day and I eat healthy. That’s my lifestyle. I feel better emotionally and physically when I eat healthy, and I’ve educated myself how to make my meals delicious with fresh foods from the farmer’s market! I can eat pizza, enchiladas….and other yummy dishes, but I have created healthier versions of these. I eat desert once or twice a week, so I don’t feel deprived…. but it’s gluten free, and I use healthy sweeteners like monk or stevia.
In regards to working out, I take a week off, and then when I get back into it, I start the first few weeks doing some of the ‘easier workouts’ Zuzka has…which I never usually do…and I enjoy doing them for a change!
Private Member |
Great blog post! Thank you Z for a wonderful year of motivation and awesome workouts and meal plans! Wishing you the best Xmas!
Private Member |
Well said! So true and to the point.
Private Member |
My thoughts exactly!! Not only are you BEAUTIFUL. You are one SMART girl!!!
Private Member |
vancouver, british columbia, canada
I agree, take a break every once in a while and let yourself eat some extra good food! I always find I lose weight VERY FAST in January because I reved up my metabolism in December – and I have extra energy for my workouts too.
However! I generally follow a similar diet to Zuzka, I try to eat a lot of healthy fats and avoid processed carbohydrates… lately there has been a lot of sugary junk at work being offered to me, and I have to admit after being on this diet for a while I have become EXTREMELY picky about my cheat meals. If I’m going to cheat, it’s not going to be with something cheap and garbagey… it’s going to be with something rich, luxurious and even nutritious. I baked my all time favourite holiday Gingerbread Cookies and I used Blackstrap Molasses (which is high in minerals) and of course I included ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. The sweets I get from everyone else doesn’t compare!
Private Member |
belgrade, serbia
Im the same way, I just have no desire to eat things that are not good enough for those cheat meals. They have to be soooooooooooooo top notch Delicious!
Private Member |
I agree!
Private Member |
Great article! Exactly how I think about everything in life, including food. If you do something you regret, pull up your big kid pants and deal with your decision! 🙂