FitSugar

Healthy Holiday Eating: Keep a Food Journal

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:22 PST

If the thought of decadent holiday food is stressing you out already, take control and try keeping track of your holiday eating with a food journal. It seems simple, but by writing down what you're eating throughout the day, you'll develop a real awareness of what you're putting in your body. A treat here and there, if you're not keeping track, can feel like it's no big deal, but writing it down will give you a real record of what you've eaten and make it easier to judge if you really do want dessert.

As a trial, test out how food journaling works for you over Thanksgiving, and if it seems to boost your healthy eating habits, keep it going through Christmas and the New Year. Plus, you can make it even easier to keep track by using your phone to journal, or if you decide to get into it, pick up one of these inconspicuous little journals or try an iPhone app. You might just find that this is a health trick you want to stick with.

Holiday Eating Tip: Rebound After the Gorge

FitSugar — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 14:15:00 PST

Marty, a contestant from season three of The Biggest Loser, once said: "The largest [dieting] obstacle is getting back on track after a cheat day." I have to second that. With the biggest cheat day of the year being Thanksgiving, I thought I would remind you to get back on the healthy lifestyle wagon right away. Don't allow one day of indulgence send you into a downward spiral.

Plan on exercising Friday. Morning is always best, because that way you are sure to fit a workout into your busy post-holiday schedule. Also avoid the temptation to eat pie and leftover stuffing for breakfast - or am I the only one who does that? Instead, have a healthy, balanced breakfast, then make yourself a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread and hold the mayo.

The bottom line: So you might overindulge for one day. Fine. Just don't let it push you off track until the New Year!

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Holiday Eating Tip: Watch Those Calories

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 02:30:00 PST

If you're not looking to gain any weight between Thanksgiving and Jan. 1, 2008, then take this into consideration.

Eating 88 extra calories per day between Thanksgiving and Jan. 1 will most likely leave you one pound heavier by 2008 - that's like eating just over three Hershey's Kisses (or a quarter of a slice of pumpkin pie) a day.

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Holiday Eating Tip: Eating in Groups

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:30:00 PST

The holidays are approaching which means all of us healthy eaters need to be armed to go into holiday meals with our best tricks up our sleeve.

In light of this and because it's time to start thinking about the holidays, CalorieLab.com offers some great tips and tricks for surviving holiday meals. Here are highlights:

Sit next to the slowest eater at the table and match that person’s pace
Always have some food left on your plate to forestall the “one more helping” impulse
Decide how much you will eat before the meal takes place
Be the last person to begin eating
Limit your meal to the entree plus a maximum of two items, with dessert, appetizer, bread and so forth constituting an item each

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5 Ways to Banish Postholiday Bloating

Self — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:04:38 PST

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Self here on FitSugar!

Feeling sluggish after the busy holiday season? You're not alone. According to a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine, the average American gains a pound between November and January.

But rather than wallow in the aftermath of too many cocktails and Christmas cookies, we turned to fitness expert Angela Parker, who offered these easy tips to banish postholiday bloating fast:

Sweat your ass off! Give yourself a daily 60-minute sweat session three days in a row. No walking - go running or spinning.
If you want to shrink fast, stick to egg whites, fish, chicken, and veggies.

Read on for more ways to banish postholiday bloating.

How to Rebound From Your Holiday Spending Spree

SavvySugar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:35:05 PST

If the gift-giving season wreaked havoc on your bank account, follow these money-saving tips to recover from holiday debt and regain your financial confidence.

Tweak your food routine. Make the obvious wallet-friendly changes to your meal habits: pack your lunch, cook dinners at home, and swap your Starbucks sip for the coffeemaker variety. Amp up the savings and avoid wasting money on groceries by writing out a weekly menu each Sunday and shopping only for necessities. If you do eat out, check for coupons beforehand, opt for an appetizer as your main entree, and choose water over pricey beverages.
Travel smart. Public transportation isn't always the most glamorous option, but it's definitely one of the cheapest. Take advantage of your city's travel alternatives and walk whenever possible. When you have to drive, take the necessary steps to save on gas.

Keep reading for more holiday financial hangover recovery tips.

Don't Lick the Spoon! Holiday Baking Tips to Prevent Illness

Jenny Sugar — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:38:56 PST

It's holiday baking time! But before you whip up all those fruitcakes and homemade Christmas cookies, keep these tips in mind to prevent the stomachache of food-borne illness and the headache of chemicals in foods.

Don't Lick the Spoon
Spritz cookies with a side of salmonella? Sounds like the worst holiday ever. Prevent a horrible bout of food poisoning this season by resisting the gooey, sugary raw cookie dough. One in 10,000 eggs may be contaminated with salmonella inside the egg shell, so it's just not worth the health risk. The same goes for ready-to-bake dough purchased at the grocery store. Recent news linked the 2009 E. coli outbreak to consuming prepackaged cookie dough, reinforcing the importance of baking batter to kill unwanted pathogens.

Keep reading to find out two more tips to stay healthy while baking this holiday season.

Fitness Tips: Healthy Eating For the Holidays

Zelana Montminy — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:59:20 PST

‘Tis the season for holidays parties, and with the festivities come a myriad of tasty treats. But you don't have to resist every temptation to keep a healthy diet. With just five fit tips, we'll show you how to eat smart while you celebrate. Eat a healthy snack before a party, be choosy with your sweets, and B.Y.O.B: Bring Your Own Broccoli! When making your contribution to a party, opt for a veggie platter rather than a cookie tray. But no matter your strategy, enjoy yourself!

Simple Tips For Staving Off Holiday Sugar Cravings

Heather Dale — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:29:20 PST

You know you're getting into the holiday spirit when the movie Elf is on repeat in your DVD player. If this is the case, let's just hope you aren't influenced by Will Ferrell's bad dietary habits, which include copious amounts of candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup! We may not be guzzling down bottles of syrup, but when confronted with tables full of cookies, candies, chocolates, and cake, what's a girl to do? Other than exercising some restrain, here are some helpful tips that will help curb your sweet tooth during the holiday season.

5 Tips For Capturing Great Holiday Videos

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:38:44 PST

Holiday time is here, and whether you're celebrating with family or friends, memories will be made. If you're branching out from photo to video this year, there are a few things you need to remember in order to make your holiday clips the best they can be. Here, a few beginner tips brought to you by the video masters at Vimeo. Check our their fun video explaining the basics, or read through the tip roundup if you're short on time.

Keep your shots short and sweet - Don't spend the entire night walking around with a camera in your face. Mingle, get a few interviews, a few moments, then put the camera down and enjoy yourself too.
Plan your important shots ahead of time - Whether it's the cooking, the opening of presents, the after-dinner games, whatever, make sure you have your camera close at hand to capture those moments.
Play with close-ups and angles - Don't be afraid to get some closeup shots of family and friends chatting, over the shoulder, or shots from above. Play around - you never know what you might end up with.
Shoot your surroundings - Don't forget to take some video of the decorations, the food, the atmosphere, the presents (before and after they've been opened) to cut into your video.
But don't film people eating - Film the food, not the people eating it. It's kinda rude, don't you think?