Healthy Holiday Eating
Giving up your favorite holiday foods? That's just wrong! Still, the holiday season can be daunting. It seems as though no matter where you turn, there's a tempting treat right around the corner, which can make sticking to a healthy eating regime hard to stick to. We asked Bethenny Frankel, who's organized the Skinnygirl Daily Pledge, a pledge to encourage people to eat healthy and cleanse daily during the holiday season, for her best tips on healthy eating. Here's what she had to say:
1. Think of your diet as a bank account. "Your diet is a bank account no matter what time of year," Frankel says. "The holidays are no exception in that you should eat foods that are good for you, indulge in moderation and never binge. Depriving yourself, will ironically enough, lead to rebelling and weight gain."
2. Be realistic. "We are trained to be terrified of theholidays and to vow to stay away from "bad" foods during this time of year," Frankel says. "Instead, we need to be realistic and decide how we are going to indulge." Frankel suggets allowing yourself to have a treat every day. The trick is to make a conscious decision, so that you don't "go off the rails" and binge, she says.
3. Don't do anything drastic. If you do overindulge in some holiday favorites, don't skip meals or try and starve yourself the next day. Eat lightly and focus on vegetables, vegetarian dishes and whole grains to help you feel better after a holiday pig-out session.
4. Make simple swaps to lighten up your holiday favorites. "I always substitute ingredient by ingredient," Frankel says. "For example, I'll swap oat or wheat flour for white flour, sugar into raw sugar, milk into low-fat or soy milk and I cut the fats in half.
5. Don't beat yourself up. Above all, Frankel stresses that you shouldn't beat yourself up about a "bad decision." "Make a choice aboutwhere you're going to indulge, and then make a bad investment," Frankel says "We all do it."
http://www.shape.com/celebrities/holiday-healthy-eating-tips-bethenny-frankel
