Magic eight: Cheat sheet to enjoy the Holidays, sure-fire tips to keep svelte

By April MacIntyre Nov 19, 2010, 6:36 GMT

Monsters and Critics want you to have an amazing Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years, but we don't want your pants to explode either.

So keeping a cheat sheet of our magic eight helpful tips handy will reinforce good habits and keep you from diet disasters rolling into the New Year of 2011.

Keep this handy to refer to when you feel the need to sample someone's homemade cookie platter at work:

1.  Why ARE you eating? Know your emotional triggers that holiday stress trip the wire.

For me, it's always the no corn syrup organic lowfat (Horizon) Egg Nog, which never quenches your thirst yet tastes so good you keep chugging it like a real drink. Big mistake.

Have a plan of action to refocus yourself quick when you feel that feed me autopilot kicking in.

See? I keep the devil I know close by...photo by April MacIntyre ©M&C

My trick? Old School Binaca spray.  Buy Binaca Mini Fastblasts which quickly spritz giving you instant fresh breath after lunch in a chic, but tiny pump which delivers 150 spritzes is the ticket for a fast brain-tongue reboot (www.binaca.com ) PLUS it numbs your tongue and makes you lose that craving for a sweet swig of the Nog fast.

Binaca

2. What are you drinking?  Calories in beverages are killers, but there is a trick that will satisfy your sweet tooth and hydrate you.

Pass over the chemical laden Diet Colas and go H2O.  In celebration of the Yogi Bear movie, a Warner Bros. Picture, in theatres on December 17th, Hint Water is releasing limited-time Yogi Bear and Boo Boo bottles for its Strawberry-Kiwi flavor. The film, which stars Justin Timberlake, Dan Aykroyd and Anna Ferris, is an adaptation of Hanna-Barbera’s classic cartoon and will follow Yogi and Boo Boo as they try to save Jellystone Park from being closed down forever.  Hint is tied to this film and introduced the cutest water bottles ever. 

The Hint line of waters are all infused with real juice extracts, and virtually no calories.  Tastes fabulous; my personal go-to Hint is Blackberry unsweetened essence water; try it, you'll like it!  www.DrinkHint.com

3.  Be Social! Actually visit with friends and family instead of grazing at the buffet.  Get up and go visit with people, that cheesecake will still be there when it's all said and done.

Food at parties can be awesome, but reconnecting and talking to people you have not seen for a while is more important, so be social, break the ice and make the first move.  Tell that special Aunt or cousin how much they meant to you as a child, or cheer up someone you know is suffering.

4.  Get out of your comfort zone!  Make events the centerpiece of gatherings instead of the food. Organize an at-home spa day, or a volunteering party for a charity, a toy drive for your church or organization, or something outdoors that gets everyone together and keep the food minimal; you don't have to kill yourself putting on a spread when there is a lot going on. Be creative!

5.  Keep regular meals! Do not skip any of your meals, and if you are to have a large dinner, be mindful and have a lighter lunch.

Breakfast, especially a high protein one, will keep you in check all day. Try not to eat cereal and sugary coffee. Keep packs of natural almonds handy for emergency tummy growls. Try to watch your sugars all day too.

6.  Strategery!  Before you hit the party, have a protein bar, or some lean turkey, chicken breast or ham, a small piece of cheese and crackers or something healthy and small. It will cut down your grazing and make your alcohol absorption go a bit slower.

7.  Holiday indulgence: One a day! Pick what you are obsessing about, and have it, but once.

8.  Holiday discipline: One plate and that is it. Buffet mania makes people lose their minds; have you witnessed the piling of food on the plates and then the seconds and thirds?

Fill your plate, and that is it. You do not need to be saddled with 5-15 pounds at the end of the holiday stretch, and if you are careful you won't have to deal with it.