It's the holidays! Throw caution to the wind and eat to your heart's content, right? Right?...

Well, sort of. I admit, at this time of year, I'm as likely as the next mummy to pour myself an extra glass of wine (or three) and say "yes" to dessert. But I do have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to keeping my weight even over the holiday season. I also have a good understanding of which holiday temptations are not too bad for me and which are calorie and sugar landmines. A single dinner or big day of eating is not going to cause weight gain. But day after day of snacking, baking, tasting, dining and drinking for a week or two makes you a candidate for the 2 pound weight gain the average person inherits over the holiday season.

Now, for your ease, a sampling of holiday treats and their basic nutritional values. 

Keep in mind, the average women needs to consume only about 2,000 calories and keep dietary fats to approximately 60 g per day to avoid health risks and maintain a healthy weight.  Eat wisely!

  • turkey (thigh with skin) - 493 calories, 27 g fat
  • prepared stuffing (1/2 cup, dry) - 107 calories; 1 g fat
  • mashed potatoes (1 cup, plain) - 186 calories; 3 g fat
  • mashed sweet potatoes (1 cup, plain) - 249 calories; 0.5 g fat
  • winter squash (1 cup, baked, plain) - 80 calories; 1 g fat
  • whipped cream (1 cup) - 414 calories; 44 g fat
  • pumpkin pie (1/8 pie, homemade) - 316 calories; 14 g fat
  • turkey gravy (1/2 cup, canned) - 60 calories; 2.5 g fat
  • butter (1 tablespoon) - 102 calories, 11.5 g fat
  • white wine (5 oz glass) - 119 calories; 0 g fat
  • red wine (5 oz glass) - 125 calories; 0 g fat
  • beer (1 can) - 153 calories; 0 g fat
So, what to do...what to do?  Well, you could just resign yourself to the fact that you are about to consume several thousand calories in one day and vow to work a little harder to make up for it (try this amazing workout for a quick kick-in-the-pants with no equipment). 
 
Or you can make a few quick substitutions:
 
  • make a wine spritzer by adding equal parts white wine and soda water, garnished with lemon or lime
  • stick with white meat from the bird and choose gravy instead of skin—not both!  Who needs soggy, gravy-covered skin anyway?
  • get some green vegetables into that spread and add fill-you-up fibre with peas, green beans, broccoli or spinach salad
  • replace 1/3 to 1/2 of the mashed potatoes in your usual batch with steamed, mashed cauliflower to slash calories dramatically
  • try plain yoghurt, chicken broth, low-fat milk or olive oil instead of the traditional butter and cream in your mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes
  • choose a scoop of ice cream if you must have a garnish with your pumpkin pie.  It goes down more slowly than whipped cream and has tons fewer calories per 1/2 cup (plain vanilla ice cream usually contains about 150 calories per 1/2 cup, compared to 200 or more calories for whipped cream).

Happy Holidays!