Surviving and thriving over the holidays
As we approach the inevitable feasts and indulgences of the winter holidays, it is important to consider how this period of abundance can be enjoyed without incurring the negative health and performance effects of overconsumption and poor consumption.
Regardless of whether you have spent this year focusing on improving fitness, changing body composition or just enjoying being who you are for the time being The looming large litany of family meals can be a bit daunting as you may worry it will throw you off track. This often leads to the new year resolutions being about doing your darnedest to rectify the damage done over the holidays from food and drink indulgence.
What i'm not advocating is sitting at a different table eating kale chips and sulking. Enjoy the novel foods and get stuck in to the socialising but consider the following points all the while:
Turkey and the other whole meats (and substitutes) are usually the most healthy protein source on the table, load them on to the plate.
Greens and root veg should also be present on the table. Again, go wild.
Take a taste of anything else on the table you want to enjoy but ensure that the bulk of your plate is covered by the above.
Follow those guidelines and holiday meals can be some of your healthiest of the year. By sticking to real foods, ie what you could harvest from a farm an hour before eating, then you maximise the quality of your intake and displace a lot of the less optimal choices on offer.
The final point is to ensure you have long periods where you don't eat, try to avoid grazing between meals. A recent analysis by Wolfgang Koppp, published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information, pointed to the lack of fasting between meals as one of the major contributors to the “civilization diseases” which affect the Western world. These non-infectious diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, osteoporosis etc are almost non existent in hunter gatherer societies because they have distinct fed and fasting states.
Eat well, move loads and have fun. See you in 2020!