More Health: Keeping Healthy During The Holidays

Most people find the holidays daunting, and why not? It seems like the fall and winter brings the best eating holidays:  Halloween candy, Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie and Christmas dinner, chocolates and desserts plus so much more!

Having diabetes during this time of the year is no fun! I have Type 2 diabetes and thankfully I can control my diabetes through diet and exercise. I can only speak from my perspective, so if you take medications or insulin, there may be different restrictions.

To be completely honest, I didn't overthink too much about the upcoming holidays. With children in the house, it would be hard to completely avoid candy and other goodies, and I did not want to deprive my family or even myself! I also wanted to enjoy the holidays and not make anyone uncomfortable especially since we were spending Thanksgiving and Christmas with relatives (side note: my relatives knew about my diabetes diagnosis and was very mindful of asking me how they could accommodate me).

The bottomline was my decision to watch my portions and to continually keep track as best as I could my calories, carbs, fats, sodium, etc on the MyFitnessPal app (there are many apps out there which do this, so find one comfortable for you). I didn't worry so much that the exact recipe my mother-in-law used for her stuffing wasn't in my food list. Instead, I tried my best to find a listing similar to what I ate. Many of you might say this would be cheating but in actuality, at least for myself, I probably overestimated what I ate, which could be both bad and good. However, I never eat the amount of calories allotted to me a day, so even if I underestimated what I ate, I had more than enough calories to compensate for the difference.

I learned a lot about myself and my eating habits during the holidays. For example, I discovered I had more willpower now than ever. I ate exactly one Halloween candy. I had pumpkin pie but only two small slices, which was enough for me. I also had chocolate kisses at Christmas but made sure to track it as part of my nutrition. I think the bottomline is to make sure you keep track of what you eat even if you go over in your nutrition or daily calories. One day is not going to undo all the hard work, and even I had to learn this myself.

Here are my top tips for the holidays:

• Don't overthink about the holidays. Approach the holidays like every other eating day. Watch your portions, keep track and don't worry if you do go over one day. Get back on track the next day.
• Plan ahead. If you are going to relatives, ask ahead of time what will be on the menu. If you are bringing a dish, bring something you are comfortable eating. Think about proportionally what you can have. If you can't measure out exactly, visually figure out about how much a portion of protein, sauce, etc should be. If you've been doing it long enough, you'll know.
• Don't deprive yourself. The bottomline is you can eat anything you want but more importantly is to eat the right portion. Have that piece of pie but eat only half a slice rather than a whole slice. Have 1 or 2 kisses but not 5 or 6. 
• Remember one day will not undo all your hard work. If you indulge one day, make sure to get back to your normal eating routine the next day. It's important to also gauge how you feel when you eat on a regular day. I can honestly say I know how I'm supposed to feel after a meal, satisfied and not stuffed.
• Move! Don't forget to get some exercise in. Even if you can only manage 10-15 minutes a day, it is 10-15 minutes more than not doing anything. Better if you can do at least 30 minutes. Keep moving and grooving!

What happened this holiday season? I'm happy to report I did not gain weight. In fact, I lost about 21 lbs between Halloween and after New Years. I also exercised on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years day! I also completed my first 5K on a tough hilly course.

Overall, I felt if I came out of the holidays without gaining any weight, it would have been a win for me. Of course, the bottom line is to combat my diabetes. My annual physical is scheduled in two weeks, so I hope to learn how I've done overall through blood test results I need for my physical.

* DISCLAIMER: All opinions are my own. I am not a medical professional or trained in diabetes management or weight loss. This is my experience. Please consult a physician before attempting any exercise or weight loss journey.