Ep.31 Navigating the Holiday Season: A Healthier Approach for Teens and Families
Nov 22, 2023
Dr Jenny Gourgari
Are you ready to experience the joy of the holiday season without the guilt of overindulgence?
I used to get sad and stressed out with Holidays season because I always ended up with some extra weight. I learned over the years a few tips and I wanted to share some ideas that might help you enjoy your holidays without the regret.
So, let's enjoy our holidays to the fullest, without guilt and sadness. Even if we end up with some extra weight, it is still OK.
Happy Holidays !
Dr Gourgari is a pediatric endocrinologist, certified in obesity medicine expert and weight loss coach for teens with more than 15 years of experience. She helps teens build healthy habits that last, so they can feel happier, be more confident and love their body again .
Are you ready to experience the joy of the holiday season without the guilt of overindulgence?
I used to get sad and stressed out with Holidays season because I always ended up with some extra weight. I learned over the years a few tips and I wanted to share some ideas that might help you enjoy your holidays without the regret.
So, let's enjoy our holidays to the fullest, without guilt and sadness. Even if we end up with some extra weight, it is still OK.
Happy Holidays !
Dr Gourgari is a pediatric endocrinologist, certified in obesity medicine expert and weight loss coach for teens with more than 15 years of experience. She helps teens build healthy habits that last, so they can feel happier, be more confident and love their body again .
Hello, welcome to another episode of the Lifestyle and Weight Loss 14s podcast. This is Dr Jenny Gurgary and this is a special episode. It is Thanksgiving week this time in the United States and I know we have upcoming holidays Christmas, new Years and a lot of festivities, a lot of meetups going on where we meet to celebrate with friends and families, and that often sometimes creates some anxiety and may lead to some extra weight gain and may lead to some unhappiness around that. So I thought I would create a special episode and give you my 10 tips for teenagers on how to stay healthy during the holidays. And the truth of the matter is it's not just for teenagers. It is the same for all families that want to have fun, enjoy food but also feel happy and have no regrets. So let's dive into it.
Speaker 1:
Number one and I'm sure you have heard this before is to try everything in moderation. So when you go into the table where there is lots of food and favorite food and maybe some special treats, you can go ahead and enjoy everything, but keep in mind that you can still enjoy in moderation and have a little bit of your favorite meals instead of feeling so full that makes you feel uncomfortable at the end of the meal. Number two is strive for a balanced plate. Now, what that means is that you can choose wisely and have a little bit of protein, a little bit of vegetables, a little bit of fruits and a little bit of whole grains, so you incorporate all the food categories. And also healthy fat is the one I didn't mention. But try to strive for having at least half of your plate with fruits and vegetables, a quarter with protein and a quarter with grains. So giving a balanced plate will give you more stability over your insulin spikes after the meal, because when you add healthy fat and protein, that tends to decrease the big insulin spikes, because it does give your body more time to break down that carbohydrate. Number three is try to stay hydrated. Oftentimes we may think that we are hungry, while in fact we are thirsty, and the best drink is to have water. So drink plenty of water and that will help you prevent from feeling very hungry and may help you not overeat.
Speaker 1:
Number four is plan ahead for your meals. If you know that you will be attending a holiday gathering and there are going to be a lot of treats there, you can plan what you're going to eat ahead of time, and if you anticipate that this is your favorite thing and you definitely want to eat that, that is okay. Plan ahead instead of going there for the first time not knowing what to choose and ending up choosing things that you may not necessarily enjoy that much. Which brings me to tip number five choose widely when you select your food, so don't go for foods that you don't like, and if you can, select foods that are equally delicious to you but have less of sugar, and especially added sugars, and less of saturated fat, that will be easier for you to digest it.
Speaker 1:
Number six is try to be more mindful of what you're eating. Remember it does take at least 20 minutes for your brain to get the signal from your stomach and your intestines that you actually had enough. If you eat and drink very quickly, then your brain does not have enough time to process that information. Remember there are hormones that are secreted as your stomach gets full and those hormones need to travel all the way to the brain and make you feel satisfied and make you feel that you're not hungry anymore. But if you're eating very quickly, you may eat beyond that level. So try to have give yourself more time to eat and talk with your friends and your family and take your time around the table.
Speaker 1:
Number seven is try to still have some kind of movement those days. So, for example, that doesn't mean that you necessarily have to go to the gym, but if you are a member in a gym, then why not? I know I always enjoy my morning classes. Before I start cooking for the dinner or lunch or all these festivities, I just always try to find time to hit the gym in the morning. You don't have to do that. You can just go for a walk in the morning or you can go for a walk after you have the meal. Remember, if you go for a walk after you had the meal, that helps with your insulin sensitivity. So that helps bring down the hormones that regulate your blood sugar. So the less hormonal increase of the insulin you get after the meal, the less likely is that this meal will be stored as fat in your body. So it not only it helps with the digestion of the food to go for a walk after the meal, but it also helps regulate your hormonal surges of insulin after the meal.
Speaker 1:
Number eight is be mindful of sugary drinks. So, of course, if you enjoy having sodas or if you enjoy having juice or if you enjoy having other drinks. I'm not saying not to have it at all, but what I'm saying is that those are the things that you should be mindful of are sugary things that you may not necessarily enjoy that much. It may be offered to you because it is available on the table to have this sugary drink, but you may not really want to have it and you might actually equally prefer sparkling water or a cup of tea. So just be aware that if you don't want to drink your calories, go for water.
Speaker 1:
Number nine is keep in mind that you can still have healthy snacks. Instead of having snacks that are desserts or having snacks that are maybe not so healthy or that may be processed, pre-packaged snacks, you might want to consider choosing healthier snacks, like fresh fruit, nuts or yogurt, or you may actually feel full from your meal and that you may elect to not have your typical snack as you do other times. Just consider that also in your routine. Number ten is try to include colorful foods. When we include foods that have different colors, that usually comes with including foods that have different vitamins and minerals, so you can have the opportunity to make sure you get your vitamins and you feel healthier the more colorful options you include in your plate.
Speaker 1:
So, again, these are just some of the tips that you probably have heard before, but what I propose is you don't really need to follow all 10 of these tips, just even choosing one of these tips, just saying that, okay, I'm just gonna have water instead of sodas, and that's my thing for these holidays. That is good enough. If that is what you choose to do. And if you say that I am going to make sure that I drink water and I go for a walk after the meal, that is good too. So just choose what works for you and your family, and even one small change can have huge results. And finally, I want to mention that the holidays is really about having time to enjoy, having time to celebrate, having time to have fun with friends and family, and you can also allow yourself to indulge on holidays, because it is holidays.
Speaker 1:
One or two or three days in a year is not going to make a huge change in terms of your overall well-being if it is just for one day, but sometimes we may lose track of our healthy eating on a holiday day and then that pattern continues to persist for the following week, the following month and so on. So don't let this one day be the beginning of an unhealthy track. If you're not able to follow any of the healthy tips one day, that's okay. You can go back to your healthy track the next day. That's all ahead for you. I hope this was helpful. Take care. You all have fun, enjoy and I will talk to you soon. Take care.