Holiday Season is not just approaching, it is here! Gonstead chiropractor in San Diego Dr Zach Beatty, DC discusses some food for thought as we prepare our holiday meals. Some really easy ways to make sure we do not overindulge will be discussed.
One of the easiest tips to avoid overindulging is eat breakfast. Yes, it can that simple. If you eat breakfast your calorie intake will be up, your stomach will be fed. This is a way to play a trick to end your hunger sensations heading into feast mode. This issue is so common that even the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has 5 healthy eating tips for the Holidays.
Holiday eating can be really tough for many. Take the time to plan how you will eat this holiday season. Dr Zach has compiled 5 tips for eating healthy during the holidays.
1. Consistency – Eat at the Same Time
So many people these days struggle with diabetes and blood sugar management. So, one of the easiest ways for them to maintain status quo is by eating consistently at the time. Well even those not suffering from diabetes can benefit from this exact same form of consistency in their eating time table. This will enable your blood sugar levels to keep more level rather than a piece of pie here, a spike in it there, which will throw your entire body chemistry off and into shock essentially.
2. Brain Trick – Eat Slow
What does our brain and nervous system control? Everything. It controls how we move, function, handle stress, as well as digestion. So our brains are the most powerful components within our bodies. We have signals that are sent from our digestive tract to our brain letting us know we are hungry, we also have signals being sent telling our brain when we are full. The later one takes about 20 minutes from the time of your first bite. Think about when you go to an all-you-can-eat location and within that first 20-30 minutes you get that feeling of fullness start to come about. Bingo there it is! So if we eat slower during that first 20-30 minutes our brain will be signaled that we are full and slow down our consumption without overindulging.
3. Mall Food – Don’t Go Hungry
Who doesn’t love walking into the mall and having tons of free samples presented to you? As your San Diego Chiropractor I am no different. I enjoy the samples as much as the next person, however if we can eat a little snack before walking into the mall you’ll be less likely to want to indulge. Highly recommend taking a little snack depending how far from the mall you live. Eat a little something before entering so when they present their samples, you’re brain has already been told you ate and can pass on them.
4. Track – What you eat and how much
Let’s keep this as simple as possible, track what you eat! It is so important especially during the holidays to track what we are eating, but also the portions of what we are eating. The phrase, everything in moderation could not be any more true. So if you eat a slice of ham, or a whole plate of turkey, please just track it so you can see what you’re eating and how much.
5. Exercise – Keep Moving
We all do it, but DON’T! So many people in San Diego love to workout and so many people drift off during the holidays to only start back up in January after gaining some unwanted weight. It is okay to dial back some, but keep moving in general not only for your general health, but for your holiday season health!
Also as a side note as many travel, be cautious in the way you are lifting your luggage. As a chiropractor in San Diego, I love helping people with low back pain, neck pain, headaches, sciatica, etc, but we actually love to help people with a better quality of life beyond pain! So please keep your spine in align!
If you are looking for healthy recipes, one of my good friends and local San Diego trainer, Shawn Marshall of Flow Fitness came out with some amazing eBooks. He has some AWESOME recipes for the holidays.