Dietitian: Watch Diet, Portion Sizes Through Holidays

Anyone looking to avoid gaining weight around Christmas should prepare to be making smart decisions with their diet.

Registered Dietitian Bethany Petty said people should focus on dishes that are mostly made of fruits and vegetables with some proteins added. Petty said one of the most important ways to prevent a lot of weight gain around the holidays is portion control.

“You allow yourself to eat that and have that comfort of that food of whatever it is, but you don’t go crazy with it by eating large amounts or multiple helpings of it,” Petty said. “Like after you have a small helping, give yourself like thirty minutes and let your food digest a little bit and to let it settle to see if you really need that other piece.”

Petty said eating the right amount of healthier foods early in the day makes it easier to not overindulge in desserts later on. Petty said it is important for people to take care of their bodies regardless of the festivities and time of year.

“The weight that’s gained during the holidays isn’t typically, for the most part, good weight I guess,” Petty said. “Just because a lot of the foods that are around during the holidays are typically sweets as you think of the Christmas cookies, you think of the pies, and specifically in the South we think of a lot of the sweet treats that people bring, specifically to like Christmas parties or work events and such.”

Petty said gaining this weight can cause long-term side effects in the future like heart attacks or heart disease. Petty said it is not a good idea to eat poorly over the holidays with the intention of dieting and exercising to fix the issue in January.

“It’s a lot easier to pack on weight than it is to take off the weight,” Petty said. “The problem with taking off the weight is you have to make it a priority and you have to change your eating habits from when you overindulged during the holidays.”

Petty said sugar can be more addictive than cocaine so eating too much can make it much more difficult to recover after the holidays. Petty said that sugar-based holiday weight needs to be lost with dieting and exercise together, which makes it even harder to address.

“You really need to balance it, even during the holidays,” Petty said. “It’s okay to have a couple cookies here or there or eat a small piece of pie or even two small pieces of different pies during Christmastime. But portion control is important.”