Welcome to our Thanksgiving/Holiday Season Survival Guide. Yes, you can make it through the Holiday Season feeling sexy, lean, vibrant and healthy!
Follow our tricks, tips, guides and recipes and you will be feeling fabulous this Holiday Season!
DAMY Holiday Survival Guide
I don’t know about you but the memories of this day for me are the smell of fresh cool air, leaves on the ground, family all in each others space, at least one argument (one of the best being a massive food fight… but I won’t go there), and, above all, copious amounts of food. Oh the smell of spices… eating to the point that the only cure is a nap… and finally, more food.
Now after eating like this you feel heavy, tried and have instant regret. We have all experienced this (some of us for years) and we treat these situations as if we have no control. It’s like the force of delicious home cooked food has a hold on us too great to stop before we feel sick.
This year I challenge you to experience the holiday seasons differently. Start with Thanksgiving (for my Canadian loves) followed by Halloween and rounded off with Christmas. I want you to get your power back or, for some of you, experience it for the first time. I want you all to feel the satisfaction of sticking to your goals. Just make it through this first holiday and you will see you can trust yourself and learn you are the one in the driver’s seat of your life. What I am going to ask you to do for this Thanksgiving is simple… plan ahead. Write it down.
Here are some quick tips. Write these out yourself in your journal and commit to them!
If you are having dinner at your house:
What a treat for you! I have you totally covered! See below (under Thanksgiving Recipes) for every recipe you could ever want for your holiday meal (For DAMY Health Online Program Members all recipes are available here – for non-members your list is below). These recipes are twists of the old classics. They are fantastic! They boast flavor and picky eaters won’t even know they are “healthy.” Set the example of health for your family this season!
Going to a family dinner:
Bring a couple healthy dishes! Everyone loves a guest that brings goodies! Bring something listed below, fresh roasted vegetables, a huge salad or a quinoa dish. Spread the love of health. Everyone benefits from it.
If you are finding yourself at a family dinner, a friends house or eating out here is a safe way to keep your portions in check when you can’t measure.
Use your hand to measure your portions. First, fill your plate up with salad and fresh veggies. Then add in your extras:
- Whole grains, pasta, potatoes = your tightly clenched fist
- Fruit = your tightly clenched fist
- Lean protein= your palm
- Low fat Dairy (skim milk, low fat plain yogurt) = one tightly clenched fist
- Fats (nuts, nut butters, cheese, oils) = 1 – 2 thumbs.
Tips, Tricks and How to Feel Amazing this Thanksgiving
(1) Before you have dinner do your workout, drink your recommended daily water and have a small snack. Have lean protein and a good fat so you feel satisfied before you go and are not starving. A handful of almonds can often do the trick.
(2) Give yourself a pep talk. Doing this in my journal works best for me. Do this the day before you go. Write out your game plan. Write the steps you are going to take to stay on track, how proud you will feel after that you stuck to your plan, and outline the walk you are going to have after! Write it all out.
(3) Decide what you really, really, really want to indulge in ahead of time. If your Aunt Martha makes the best pie known to man and you have been dreaming about it all year, have it! Cut your own portion and sick to it. Eat your meal until you are about 75% full. Satisfied but far from stuffed. When it is time to have your pie, sit down with your tea and really enjoy that pie. Take small bites, eat slow and take it in. ‘Savor the flavor’ as they say. This will be your treat for the week, enjoy it!
(4) Only have one round. Eat your dinner nice and slow and enjoy it. Only have one plate. Think satisfied not stuffed. Go for roasted veggies, turkey, and salad first. Leave little room on your plate for anything with cream, cheese, or butter.
(5) Skip the elastic waistband. So many of us when we know we are going to “pig out” wear something really comfy that has an expanding waistline. This year dress in something that isn’t your “eating clothes.” Wear nice jeans and a pretty top. This simple step can keep you from binging.
(6) Workout before your dinner. Get your workout in and make it count.
(7) Keep hydrated with water before and during dinner. That day you should drink your normal amount of water.
(8) Pick cocktails or dessert. It is one or the other. Both are loaded with sugar and you will only need one. If you choose cocktails make sure you drink water before and after each drink and try to stick to no more than 3 drinks. Click here for on-plan DAMY Health Cocktails or here for more options.
(9) Eat healthy, normal meals before dinner. Eat on your plan the rest of your meals throughout the day. Don’t skip meals thinking you are “saving calories” for dinner. This will only lead to a binge.
(10) Eat healthy the rest of the week. Think of your Thanksgiving dinner as your “treat” meal. Then jump right back on your game plan. Meet all your workouts, drink all your water and eat all your meals on plan.
(11) Free yourself to fully enjoy what Holidays are about. Holidays are for time with loved ones to stop our everyday busy-body lives and enjoy each other. It’s not about stuffing yourself full or binge eating. It’s about great conversation, loving and enjoying the people who matter most to you. When you stop obsessing about food or your relationship with food you have all the time in the world to take in these special/important moments. Think less about food this season and more about enjoying the people around you.
Follow this Holiday Guide and you will have a remarkably enjoyable Holiday Season without the stress of weight gain!
What If I Feel I Over-Indulged?
If you have over-indulged the best thing you can do is get back on track right away. Forget the all-or-nothing attitude and letting an off day spin into a 3-month binge. You are going to jump right back on track and here’s how:
***If you are DAMY Health Online Program Member – Jump into the 3-Week Fat Blaster Cleanse/Detox. This program can work miracles. It is found on the Member’s Only Site here.
***For Non-Online Program Members – You can check out these two wonderful Free DAMY Guides:
Thanksgiving Recipes
Here are some great recipes for this Thanksgiving.
For our DAMY Health Online Program Members – click here for the Full Thanksgiving Day Meal Recipes.
- Homemade Cranberry Sauce
- Raw Pecan Pie
- Whipped Cauliflower Potatoes
- Dairy Free Whipped Cream
- Vegan Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
- Health Pecan Pie Bites
- Vegan Gluten Free Apple Crisp
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Vegan Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake
- Raw Vegan Stuffed Cucumbers
- Raw Sundried Tomato and Basil Cashew Cheese
- Gluten-Free Pecan Crusted Coffee Cakes
- Raw Cinnamon Buns
- Raw Peach Cobbler
- Healthy Chocolate Banana Cream Pie (GF, Raw and Vegan)
Every holiday season I seem to mess up with food choices and feel AWFUL….. this year is going to be the best. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the desserts here. I have made MANY of them and even my husband likes them. THANK YOU for all these great recipes!!!!!!!
That is so great to hear :))) Yes, it is going to be different! Use this guide and you will sail through this Holiday feeling vibrate and alive 🙂 I hope you are having a great day and thank you for the comment-love!