Tips for staying balanced during the holiday season!
You might be surprised at what can help you stay balanced this holiday season! Here are a couple evidenced based tips to try:
1. Enjoy warm coffee and green tea- it may actually help you lose weight!
Caffeine (<500mg/day- 4 cups!) when NOT accompanied by additional sugars or milk (eg. expresso, green tea, yerba mate or kola nuts), has some amazing benefits and weight loss evidence! Here is some of the evidence-based research!
- It stimulates the nervous system and has been shown to modestly increase daily energy expenditure, decrease energy intake, reduce perceived-effort-level of exercise, and improve feelings of energy and alertness (Harpaz, Tamir, Weinstein, & Weinstein, 2017).
- An apparent benefit to caffeine ingestion is a decreased sense of effort associated with exercise and an increase in physical performance (Harpaz et al., 2017). This has relevant practical application to exercise enjoyment and subsequent adherence, particularly during the early stages of exercise adoption and during weight- and fat-loss plateaus.
- A systematic review of 13 randomized, controlled trials analyzing the effect of caffeine on weight loss determined a dose-response of caffeine on reductions in fat mass, weight, and body-mass index, suggesting caffeine’s viability to aid in promoting weight and fat loss (Tabrizi et al., 2018).
- Adult intake of caffeine up to 400 to 500 milligrams per day appears safe in healthy individuals, but adverse side effects, including elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure, jitteriness, nervousness, and gastrointestinal distress, may occur and are more likely at higher doses (> 500 milligrams) and among novel users (European Food Safety Authority, 2015; U.S. FDA, 2013).
- Apparently, caffeine taken prior to intense exercise has the potential to reduce rates of perceived exertion, lower pain experience, raises endorphin release, and improves fatigue resistance (Maughan et al., 2018).
A tip for the sweet tooth: Use a calorie free sweetener that does not spike the glucose index or contribute to Candida Albicans like stevia or erythritol.
2. If you drink, have a cava, wine or prosecco (keep it to a couple each event)– instead of beer or sugary drinks, and separate drinks with a full glass of water!
- Wine can include some healthy micro-nutrients like antioxidants and select vitamins.
- Cava is the lowest in calories yielding about 95 calories/5 fl oz, light beer contains about 110calories/5fl oz (but contains sugars and wheat usually) and wine 120 calories/12 fl oz.
- Remember to eat healthy before and after drinking! Poor dietary choices are often made before, during, and after alcohol is consumed, leading to excess caloric intake, when both large and moderate amounts are consumed (Lloyd-Richardson, Lucero, DiBello, Jacobson, & Wing, 2008).
- Eat before you drink! While food slows the absorption of alcohol, it also increases the rate at which ethanol is metabolized, both by first-pass metabolism and metabolism in the liver, as a result of increased liver blood flow (Ramchandani, Bosron, & Li, 2001).
3. DANCE and Stay active!
- If you are at a social gathering with friends, don’t be shy and try some new moves- this is a great way to minimize the drinks and food intake, and burn those extra calories while having a great time!
- It is so easy to curl up on the couch and watch TV during this time of year, but regular exercise and movement can keep you positive, higher functioning and lead to higher quality of life (Govindaraju, Sahle, McCaffrey, McNeil, & Owen, 2018).
- Stand at parties and plan events where you can walk to.
4. Eat something healthy before parties.
- If you fill your belly up before you go out with healthy options, you will be less likely to full up on empty calories and sugars treats.
- Keep treats for just that- a TREAT, not a meal.
- Be sure to have healthy options at parties by bringing them with you! Veggie plate anyone?
Remember studies show that: benefits of healthy eating and quality of life are weight loss, weight control, improved physical functioning, increased energy, and overall mental well-being (Govindaraju et al., 2018).
Thank you for reading,
Kaley
RN BN MN CNC
References:
European Food Safety Authority, Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. (2015). Scientific opinion on the safety of caffeine. European Food Safety Authority, 13(5), 4102–4222.
Govindaraju, T., Sahle, B. W., McCaffrey, T. A., McNeil, J. J., & Owen, A. J. (2018). Dietary Patterns and Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Nutrients, 10(8).
Harpaz, E., Tamir, S., Weinstein, A., & Weinstein, Y. (2017, Jan.). The effect of caffeine on energy balance. Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology, 28(1), 1–10. Retrieved from [PDF]
Lloyd-Richardson, E. E., Lucero, M. L., DiBello, J. R., Jacobson, A. E., & Wing, R. R. (2008). The relationship between alcohol use, eating habits and weight change in college freshmen. Eating Behaviors, 9(4), 504–508.
Maughan, R. J., Burke, L. M., Dvorak, J., Larson-Meyer, D. E., Peeling, P., Phillips, S. M., . . . Engebretsen, L. (2018, Mar.). IOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 28(2), 104–125. doi:10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0020.
Ramchandani, V., Bosron, W., & Li, T. (2001). Research advances in ethanol metabolism. Pathologie Biologie, 49(9), 676–682.UTabrizi, R., Saneei, P., Lankarani, K. B., Akbari, M., Kolahdooz, F., Esmaillzadeh, A., . . . Asemi, Z. (2018, Oct.). The effects of caffeine intake on weight loss: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 18, 1–9. doi:10.1080/10408398.2018.1507996
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2013). FDA to investigate added caffeine. Retrieved from [PDF]
Take care of you first – Health is number 1
REMINDER: It is shown in meta-analysis (the most credible type of research) shows that communal accountability, social support and dietary support has the ability to increase adherence to a diet or wellness program.
Lemstra, M., Bird, Y., Nwankwo, C., Rogers, M., & Moraros, J. (2016). Weight loss intervention adherence and factors promoting adherence: a meta-analysis. Patient preference and adherence, 10, 1547 Retrieved form LINK (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4990387/)
Balance is difficult, consider all six dimensions of wellness in your health plan.
