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
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!