Tips for lightening up your meals during the holidays
The holidays are approaching and with them the family meals and their farandole of traditional dishes. Enough to undermine all the efforts made before the holidays to get rid of the extra pounds! We give you some tips to spend the holiday season stress-free.
During the aperitif
Go light as an aperitif: Limit your alcohol consumption
The preparation of a festive meal tends to drag on and as soon as the aperitif is served we tend to throw ourselves on the canapes and other petit fours. Try to limit their consumption and prefer raw vegetables with a yoghurt and herb sauce or small vegetable skewers.
Alcohol is a high-calorie drink that must absolutely be limited if you want to lose weight. To enjoy your end of year celebrations you can allow yourself a glass of champagne during the meal.
Another tip to avoid alcohol: favor non-alcoholic cocktail recipes, which are just as good as their alcoholic version!
During the meal
Be careful with the sauces
Festive dishes are often accompanied by sauces that are real calorie bombs!
If you are hosting, avoid creamy sauces as much as possible and prefer poultry stock or wine sauces. You can also replace the cream of your sauces with 0% yoghurt or take inspiration from recipes for slimming sauces.
If invited, try to limit the amount of sauce you have when serving yourself.
Put fish on the menu
If you changed your habits and put fish in the spotlight this Christmas? Fish is indeed a lower fat and lower calorie dish than the traditional turkey with chestnuts but just as delicious! Prefer cooking in the oven in foil which will allow you to have an original seasoning: sauce with slimming herbs, aromatic herbs, spices...
If you do not want to deviate from the rule of meat on the menu, favor lean meats such as game or poultry.
Try to eat low GI foods
Foods with a Glycemic Index help you regulate your weight and can easily be invited to your festive table: salmon, scallops or lamb meat, for example, have a low GI. Vegetables also have a low GI, so do not hesitate to replace the traditional potatoes with green beans!
Be reasonable about quantities
To limit your weight gain during the end of year celebrations, play on the quantities and avoid refilling.
Good to know
The glycemic index (GI) classifies foods according to the rise in blood sugar they produce after ingestion. This index is measured on a base of 100 (100 corresponding to the GI of glucose, the reference carbohydrate). Foods are generally classified into 3 categories of glycemic index, on a scale from 1 to 100:
"High GI" (over 60)
"Medium GI" (between 40 and 59)
"Low GI" (from 1 to 39)
For dessert
Prefer frozen logs to pastry logs
The log is THE symbol of the Christmas meal, so it's difficult to do without it even when you're on a diet and yet it can cancel out all the efforts made during the meal. Therefore, opt for a log iced in sorbet (and not with cream!) which will be lower in calories and easier to digest.
Pay attention to the small variations of the Christmas meal like the chocolates
Do not destroy all the efforts made during the meal by drawing several chocolates. Try to limit yourself to one if the temptation is too great or try replacing the little chocolate with an herbal tea that will help you digest and make you crave sweets!
It is therefore easy to make small efforts throughout your holiday meals to avoid a too heavy addition at the exit. Don't forget that the end-of-year celebrations must remain a moment of pleasure and sharing, so enjoy and don't deprive yourself!
If you make any deviations, you can report them in your follow-up and compensate for the following week!
Good to know
Normally, the rise in blood sugar levels triggers the secretion of insulin by the pancreas. In case of difficulty in using insulin, the sugar level rises in the blood because it can no longer enter the cells normally. This insulin spike triggers hunger signals that are often responded to by high sugar consumption. A vicious circle called “insulin resistance” is then engaged, thus promoting weight gain.
Help yourself with dietary supplements
Certain food supplements based on nopal, konjac or even green tea can help you keep your figure during the holiday season.
The nopal
The nopal is a cactus native to Mexico. It is better known as prickly pear. This plant is essential for trapping fat thanks to its soluble and insoluble fibers. These swell in the stomach in the presence of water and provide a satiety effect.
The fibers of the nopal are also real "fat sensors". They bind with some of the fat consumed in the stomach. They are then eliminated naturally.
Good to know
Mate and guarana are two very popular active ingredients in slimming food supplements. These two active ingredients promote weight control as part of a diet. The maté allows to degrade the grease and to eliminate.
Konjac
Konjac _ plant from Asia that contains glucomannan fibers. The latter have a very high water retention capacity in their natural state. In the stomach, the konjac fibers come into contact with water and take on the appearance of a gel. This reaction creates an appetite suppressant effect. This is why konjac is very interesting when you want to reduce the number of calories absorbed.
green tea
Green tea is a powerful source of antioxidants. It can be consumed as an infusion or as a dietary supplement. Green tea can be a useful aid in facilitating the elimination and drainage functions of the body.
You now have all the keys in hand to spend the holidays with complete peace of mind!
Source : Flerance Nture
