10 Commandments of Healthy Holiday Eating

All too often, special foods arefull of fat. We know this, but stilltell ourselves that “calories don’tcount” over holidays—stopfooling yourself! When you havediabetes, watching your carbintake, weight and work out plan can mean the differencebetween Happy Holidays andBah Humbug!

1. Thou shalt plan aheadand check thine bloodglucose often.Plan ahead for parties anddinners. If grandma’s fudge issomething you look forwardto every year, add a piece intoyour diet plan. Also, checkyour blood glucose moreoften. Good monitoring cansave a holiday mishap!

2. Thou shalt not diet!Keeping up with yourweight this time of year ishard enough. Trying to loseweight could make the seasonharder and even morestressful. You’re more likelyto break diet plans, too. Makea goal to maintain your weightand stick to it.

3. Thou shalt makestcommitments to thineown self—and to thembe true. Write down yourgoals for holiday eating andwork outs, and review themeach day. Don't be angry ifyou have a bad day—just tryagain (and put in a few extraminutes of exercise) thenext day!

4. Thou shalt not deprivethyself! When you wantsweets, it's better to eat asmall cookie or share a pieceof pie with someone. Don’ttell yourself you can’t haveit at all. If you're alwaysdepriving yourself, you won'thave a good time. You'll feellike you're missing out on allof the joys of the holiday. Thekey is to indulge—just a little!Keep in mind your carbs.

5. Thou shalt limit thinealcohol intake. Whenthy cup runneth over,thou drinkest emptycalories. And eggnoghas over 300 perserving! If you wanta drink, have it onlyafter eating. Chooselight beer, whitewines, and otherlow calorie drinks.

6. Thou shalt divide andconquer—thine plate.When choosing items forbig dinners, fill 1/2 of yourplate with healthy veggies,1/4 of your plate with lightprotein (white meat turkey,for example—with just atouch of gravy), and 1/4 withstarch (mashed potatoes,sweet potatoes, rice). Chewslowly and savor the flavorof all the foods.

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the 10 commandments of healthy holiday eating!

7. Thou shaltsnack! Eating ahealthy snack orsmall meal before

and after a partywill keep you from raiding thebuffet table when you go. Nevergo to a party hungry or starveyourself before a big meal. You're more likely to overeat with lots of things that are badfor you and your diabetes.

8. Thou shalt throw a party.When you host the party,you have control over thefood and drinks. Youcan make sure that the foodis lower in fat and caloriesand higher in nutrients.

9. Thou shalt sleep. Sleep isalways good, especially duringthe hectic holidays. It relievesstress, reinvigorates yourbody, and gives you time offfrom everything that’s goingon. If you're not stressed, youwon't be doing a lot of stresseating, will you?

10. Thou shalt enjoy thyfriends and family. Planor attend parties that don'trevolve around food.Instead, parties should haveactivities that revolve aroundyour coworkers, friends andfamilies. Remember whatthis time is all about. Dance,play board games, sit by thefire and share stories. Nomatter what, get away fromthe buffet!

10 commandments of holiday eating continued

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Pritchett & Hull Associates, Inc.Atlanta, GA 800-241-4925www.p-h.comProviding Quality Health EducationMaterials Since 1973

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1. Keep a routine —and stick to it. As youknow, it’s easy to get outof the mindset that youneed to exercise daily.Once you start findingreasons not to exercise,it’s hard to stop!

2. Do the MonsterMash, the Turkey Trot,the Jingle Bell Hop, theKwanzaa Sowu andthe Hanukkah HavaNagila! Dancingburns 432 caloriesper hour and boostsyour mood!

3. Decorate! All of thathanging, stretching,untangling, wrapping,lighting, tying and deckingof the halls not only makesthe house look cheery andfestive, but burns calories,too! Everyone will admireyour effort.

4. Park far awaywhen going shopping(as if you had a choice,with the mall rush). Anddon't worry about gettinglost in the parking lot—power walk to findthe car!

5. Walk several timesaround the mall aftergoing shopping. Balancethe weight in your bagsand do bicep curls asyou walk!

6. Take a walk with thefamily after big mealsto digest.

®

Pritchett & Hull Associates, Inc.Atlanta, GA 800-241-4925www.p-h.comProviding Quality Health EducationMaterials Since 1973

Compliments of

6 very strong suggestionsof healthy holiday exercise!