Tips to maintain your weight over the holidays

RANDOLPH— The holidays are meant to be enjoyed, so it’s not what we do one or two days a year that matters for our overall health. It’s about eating well again following those days. However, for those trying to avoid over-indulging, Gifford Medical Center’s registered dietician Stacy Pelletier has some tips to share:

• “Enjoy the time with friends and family,” Pelletier said. “If you’re trying to lose weight, just focus on maintaining weight instead and don’t stress out.”
• Simple things like putting food on a small plate or napkin can go a long way to keeping the weight off.
• “Anything in moderation,” Pelletier said. “With pies and cakes, just have a small little sliver or just a couple of bites, so you don’t feel restricted.”

If you are hosting dinner, send food home with people so you don’t have a lot of leftovers, she added. And if you do have leftovers, make little meals out of them to stick in the freezer so you don’t feel obligated to eat them all right away.

Also, if you’re going to a friend’s house, bring a healthy dish so you’ll know there’s at least one thing you can feel good about eating. You can also drink water before a meal, she said. This will help fill your stomach, so you don’t eat as much.

“At times we feel like we want something to eat, but instead of being hungry, you could be dehydrated,” Pelletier explained.

Regardless of what happens this holiday season, Pelletier insists that folks not be too hard on themselves. “Negative self-talk isn’t helpful, just get back on track the next day and learn from your past. You’re not failing, you’re just learning.”

Pelletier practices at Gifford, a community hospital in Randolph, with family health centers in Berlin, Bethel, Chelsea, Randolph and Rochester, and specialty services throughout central Vermont. Gifford is a full-service hospital with a 24-hour emergency department and inpatient unit; many surgical services; an adult day program; 49-unit independent living facility, and nursing home.

For more tips on how to avoid over-indulging this holiday season, visit the blog section at Gifford Health: giffordhealthcare.org.