The holidays are coming and we all know what that means. Heavy eating, holiday weight gain, and food comas. From Oct. 31 to Feb. 14, we’ll negotiate a minefield of delicious food choices that will decrease our wallets as they expand our waistlines. But instead of making New Year’s resolutions, why not make a new system so you won’t need one?
Coming out on the other side of the holidays with the same bod you went in with isn’t easy. You will face temptation almost every week, everywhere, in every form, from work to friend to family gatherings. If you’re lucky enough to be a monk or hermit, you’ll be safely sequestered from the world’s buffet of badness. But for the rest of us, our will power will lose steam. So what can you do to stay healthy and happy when the world is working against your body’s best interests?
Create a system for success.
Willpower won’t keep you healthy this holiday season. Research has shown our environment is more powerful than our ability to say no. If you’re constantly surrounded by sweets or given extra-large portions to eat, eventually you’ll indulge no matter what mantra you’ve been repeating in the mirror.
Advice from James Clear’s New York Times bestselling book Atomic Habits could help you stay trim and fit. It’s all about creating a clear system for your behavior, so you don’t have to make decisions all the time. If you follow your system successfully, then the results will eventually follow. For example, during the holidays, you could have a system where you choose small plates to portion your food on. Or you could set a limit on sweets. Instead of saying no, you are happy to say yes to one a day or one a gathering.
Never miss twice.
But what if you have an off day? Don’t worry. Clear also has advice if your new system occasionally doesn’t work—just never miss twice.
So if you have an off day and eat too much milk chocolate or have an extra portion at the holiday party, don’t beat yourself up. Accept that you sometimes get off track; then get back on the system the next day. Most people give up their system if they make a mistake once. However, by never missing twice, you can stay healthier than by giving up entirely.
Eat more fat.
Another way to overcome the holiday food challenge is to eat more fat. Not just any fat. I mean healthy fats. Eating healthy fats not only gives you energy but also decreases your hunger and gives you a full feeling from a smaller portion, stopping you from overindulging. Because as we all know, when we’re hungry we make the worst food decisions.
In Max Lugavere’s bestselling book Genius Foods, he outlines three common foods that are high in healthy fat like extra virgin olive oil, almonds, and eggs. You can use extra virgin olive oil for everything. It’s high in healthy fats that will fill you up no matter what you apply it to, so you will end up eating less and burning off more calories. If you’re feeling nutty, try almonds, which are high in healthy fats. Or if you’re attending a breakfast, go for eggs instead of other high sugar choices like granola, doughnuts or pancakes that will have you crashing later on and convincing you you’re hungry all over again.
Choose superfoods.
You can also search for other superfoods at your events. Superfoods are rich in all the nutrients your body likes and needs. One of these superfoods is dark chocolate. So when given a choice for dessert, choose the dark chocolate over regular milk chocolate. The darker the healthier. The healthiest is 80% dark. And if you see any fruits at your buffets, go for blueberries, which are rich in antioxidants.
The junk food days are upon us. However, you don’t have to spiral out of control and let your guilt twist your stomach into a knot this winter. If you want to come out in spring looking as good as you did in the fall, you can do it. Just create a system, never miss twice, eat healthy fats, and choose superfoods. Your body will thank you.
