Eat This, Not That for the Holidays

The holiday's will be here before you know it so I'm going to make this post weeeeellllll in advance so you can do a little research and figure out what foods you should try your best to avoid this holiday season.

Have you ever heard of the Eat This, Not That books? They're books that show you simply which foods are better for you, what to avoid and what foods are deceptive.... you might be surprised what you thought was good for you turns out to be bad...

Here's some details from Amazon. They also have a book that will help you navigate through the super market shelves. These books are handy if you're just starting out with a weight loss program and they'll help you open your eyes to some of the bad foods and restaurants out there.

However, I've noticed a pattern, the books are showing you two food choices that are already bad for you to begin with and letting you choose the bad food that happens to have less calories instead of saying DON'T EAT EITHER ONE!

The books suggest to eat this huge fatty burger over that huge fatty burger because this fatty burger has 50 less calories...

If you're really looking to change bad eating habits the books should say avoid the burger all together! The grilled chicken breast sandwich is your best option, toss the bun, pass on the cheese and mayo, skip the fries and get the baked potato (no toppings except for 1 pat of butter!) at Wendy's instead.

Or the book might suggest eat a glazed doughnut instead of the chocolate covered doughnut, when in reality if you're trying to achieve weight loss you should say no to the doughnut altogether and eat a pack of plain oat meal for breakfast instead.

Realistically though no one is ever going to eat perfect 100% of the time, so when you do crave something bad for you or you and some friends will be eating out these books will help you decide on an option on how to not totally kill your diet.

Remember one bad day of eating (or one bad meal) doesn't mean you've just completely blown everything and you should give up. The important thing to remember is that if you have a bad day, add an extra day of working out to your routine and eat healthy the next day and the day after and so on and so forth.

The problem we have with the holiday's is that we don't just eat that one big meal at Thanksgiving, there's always cookies, cakes, parties, sweet treats, Christmas dinner New Years dinner and excessive drinking... it all adds up in the long run, so now is the time to be extra vigilant and not wait for New years day to roll around and start a resolution after you've already packed on even more pounds.

Now that I've made this lengthy introduction... I found an online quiz of eat this not that for holiday food! So let's take a look! I scored 16/20 because I didn't read the descriptions completely...this one tricked me:

Mushroom Gravy v. Cranberry Sauce

Right away I clicked on the cranberry sauce as being the better option. I didn't pay attention to the fact that it said Mushroom and not a meat broth based gravy. For the holiday's this one is a bit unrealistic I think it's safe to say that most of us make our thanksgiving gravy out of the turkey drippings... So here's your nutrition information from Sparkpeople.com

Compared to the cranberry's it's still better for you, but it's more calories than mushroom gravy. Measure out 1 cup for your entire plate and see how far it goes, I'm pretty sure it's more than enough for two plates actually, so half the serving means less calories.

Deli Sliced Ham 3 oz. v 1 Turkey Drumstick

The ham is LOADED with sodium, and the drum stick is high in calories and saturated fat! Your best option is to go with the turkey breast meat and stay away from the dark meat!

1 cup Mashed Potatoes v 1 cup Stuffing

OK yes I know the stuffing is higher in calories, but there is only ONE time of year I eat stuffing and that is at Thanksgiving. I'm going to have my stuffing!


So if you're like me and really looking forward to that stuffing here's some tips to help you to avoid continuing to over eat:

Cut your portion of stuffing in half

Eat slowly, savor each bite and set your fork down between bites. Eating slowly allows time for your stomach to realize its becoming full!

Wait at least 20 minutes before going for seconds... allow your stomach time to realize its full before you cram a second plate of food into it!

And now for dessert!

Apple pie with whipped topping v. apple pie a la mode

This should be a not brainer a dollop of whipped topping is a lot less calories than a scoop of ice cream...

Say no to the ice cream pass the cool whip!

So I hope you found some of these tips helpful and eye opening. Just remember thanksgiving dinner is one meal... indulge a little bit but pass on the holiday cookies thrown in your face the next week so you stay on track!

And even if you think you're going to blow it you could always resort to staring at pictures of your favorite celebs to avoid the food! If only choosing one option over another were so easy when I comes to men!

Should I stare at:

This or That?