Quell Your Holiday Cravings

It’s not surprising that many people look toward the holiday season with an equal mixture of excitement and dread. The one area that is the most difficult for those of us fitness fanatics, concerned with looking good, keeping our waist lines in check and maintaining fitness year round, the holidays can be a double edged sword.

Taking a break from your diet can be a huge mental relief – not tracking calories, letting yourself eat some non-regulation diet foods and generally being a little more free with your food choices can be a welcome respite from all the diet planning the rest of the year. It can even do your metabolism some good to have a break from a reduced calorie diet and provide a much needed hormonal boost and increase your energy levels for a time.

When you’re in the zone the other 11 months of the year, resisting temptations and sticking to your plan isn’t too difficult. Your mind is so focused on your goals that you think nothing of turning down second helpings of dessert, walk past the bakery store with ease, and don’t have any issues with refusing offers of birthday cake, cookies and chips from work colleagues in the office.

Let things slide slightly though, and it’s potentially the start of a big downward spiral.

There are so many cravings around over the holidays that it can be hard to resist. Sweets and candy in bowls throughout the house, leftovers peering at you from every shelf in the refrigerator and general junk foods waiting to pounce on you at every term. Even with the best will in the world, you’re almost bound to give in at some stage.

One piece of pie turns into two, then three. You pick at a few sweets and before you know it you’ve demolished half a box, and your “small taste” of the Christmas cake ends in you finishing the whole thing.

Cravings really can be a diet wrecker – you might be able to avoid them for a day, maybe even or three or a whole week, but chances are that you’ll fall off the wagon at some point over the holiday season. That is, unless you have a craving quelling plan in place.

Telling yourself you’re going to be disciplined and stick to your diet is all well and good, but when faced with your ultimate cravings, even the most hardened of dieters can have a hard time saying no. Utilize these craving busting tips for a healthier holiday season.

Quelling Holiday Cravings - The Right Way

There are plenty of craving beating tactics around. Some work, and some don’t. The key is to find what works for you, and stick with that to come through the holidays leaner, fitter and healthier.

Pack in the Protein

Protein is probably the most important nutrient in your diet. In fact, not “probably,” it is definitely the most important nutrient in your diet.

Protein is vital for weight loss due to the effect it has on your metabolism. Protein breaks down more slowly than carbohydrates or fat, so causes your body to burn more calories in the digestion process, ramps up your metabolism and helps preserve lean muscle mass and improve your recovery rates.

This means you’ll feel fuller and find resisting cravings much easier.

A general high protein diet is the best place to start, shooting for at least 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body-weight each day (although 1 gram per pound would be even better.) But you can take this a step further and drink a protein shake 30 minutes before each meal. This is guaranteed to reduce your appetite at the meal, and help you quell those cravings.

Make Friends with Salad

Accompanying each meal with a salad is another super-effective craving beating tip. Salad is extremely low in calories, but highly filling. Eat your salad before anything else (have it alongside your protein shake to combine two awesome tactics in one.) Fill a big bowl with dark leafy greens and brightly colored vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, lettuce, kale, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, beets, asparagus and cucumber for a low-calorie craving buster.

Make Room for Treats

Plan exactly when you’re going to eat some of your favorite holiday foods. Don’t see this as “giving in” to your cravings, as this is the first step on a road you don’t want to go down, and makes it feel like the food is controlling you. Instead, remember that you are mentally strong, and bigger than the food you desire.

A week before the holidays get into full swing, sit down and plan exactly what craving foods you’re going to eat, when you’re going to eat them and how much you’ll have. Doing this makes you feel like you’re having some of what you fancy and not being deprived, but also ensures you control the amount you’re having, and aren’t kissing goodbye to months of hard work in one fell swoop.

Drink Water

A lot of the time when you’re around bad food that tastes oh so good, your brain tricks your body into thinking it’s hungry. You’ll convince yourself that you need sustenance, and let yourself have just a small piece of your “naughty” food, which quickly turns into a junk food binge.

Instead, as soon as you feel hungry, drink a big glass of water. Better yet, have two or three. The water helps temporarily fill you up and gives your digestive tract something to process. The likelihood is that once you’ve downed a few glasses, you’ll feel stuffed, and won’t desire anything else for a good hour or so.

Quelling cravings really is a case of mind over matter, and sometimes it’s just a case of “manning up” and making the decision as to whether a moment of pleasure is worth sabotaging your diet for. When you think about all the hard work you’ve put in over the year, is it really worth undoing a whole load of that just for a few “treat foods.”

Implement these tactics, and you’re bound to beat your cravings, enjoy the holidays, and not start the New Year as a lazy, bloated individual, rather an energetic, spritely, strong, fit hottie, ready to go and kick butt in the gym.