Tips on how to Survive Holiday Eating

How do you survive the buffets, the countless parties, delicous appitizers and of course the huge Christmas dinner without gaining weight?  Here are some of my tricks to surviving holiday eating:

1. Never go to the event hungry.  Have some lean protein before you leave.
2. Chug, Chug, Chug Water. Classic advice. Water in your belly will keep it full on zero-calorie H2O and water in your system will keep you hydrated, so you won’t mistake thirst for hunger.
3. Get in a Workout BEFORE the event. Getting your workout in before the meal will not only keep you feeling good enough to say no to pecan pie, but you will have definitely burnt off the calories in case you do give into it’s calling.
4. Bring Your Own Dessert. If you know for a fact that you are unable to resist the sweet stuff, make your own healthy dessert to bring along. You’ll earn brownie points from the host, and you can have an extra helping without worry.
5. Skip the Cocktails.  Or at least have a lower calorie alcoholic drink and than switch to water.
6. Get Out of the House. Be a life saver and volunteer to take all the rowdy kids on a walk while the grown-ups make dinner. You’ll be a hero in the kitchen, the fun relative to the kids, and it’s a one-two punch for waistline: you can’t mindlessly munch waiting for dinner to be served, and you’ll burn a few extra calories to boot.
7. Go for lean protein and vegetables first on any buffet, appetizer and dinner table.  Skip the sides, if possible.  If you really want that side, eat your lean protein and veggies first than go back up and get a small portion of  Aunt Bertha’s Sweet Potato Pie.
8. Bring a low calorie side dish, such as , steamed broccoli with a light dressing.  This way you can fill your plate up without all the high calorie sides.

Need some help with high protein options for the holidays?

1. Shrimp cocktail
2. White turkey meat
3. Small handful of almonds
4. Low Fat Tofu dish
5. Chicken kabobs
6. Soy Nuts
7. Ham
8. Edamame
9. Soy Cheese without the crackers
10. Hummus dip

Make sure not to make food the focus.  The food is just a small part of the holiday season.  Enjoy the relationships that you have with the people you care about.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

As promised we are having our weekly giveaway (some exceptions may apply) to learn more about soy products. The giveaway is $50 to your favourite grocery store. Who does not need free groceries?

To enter:

All you have to do is re-tweet this blog post.

Or you can copy and paste this tweet:

@GirlGetStrong Tips to Survive Holiday Eating http://bit.ly/vzOS2M #SOYSIMPLE

Super important to use the #soysimple hashtag or your entry will not count!

A weekly winner will be chosen from Random.org You have until Dec 18, 2011 (midnight PST) to complete your entry. The winner will choose their top 3 grocery stores and the sponsor will choose the gift card from that list.

You could be next, so get tweeting. Good luck!

Contest is only open to U.S. residents, 18 years of age and older. One entry, per person, per contest.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Solae. The opinions expressed by me do not necessarily reflect the view of the Solae.