Healthy Eating This Easter Weekend

Some WSU students are taking advantage of the Easter weekend to head home to spend time with family and friends.  Others are planning gatherings with friends here in Pullman if home is further away for them.  Although, the main holidays of the year for many of us include Thanksgiving and Christmas, Easter can also be a great time to gather and eat a delicious meal with our families.  This is great, but at the same time can be dangerous if we are trying to eat healthy foods and portions.

I was interested to see how others feel about the issue of holiday overeating and stumbled across another blogger who also has concerns about overeating at the holidays.  The suggestions are the result of trial and error to prevent eating too much of that holiday fare.  Take a look and try them out this Sunday or at your next big family meal.




1) Start The Day With ExerciseOne of the best ways to set the right tone when you know you're going to be surrounded by food all day is to get in some exercise the very first thing in the morning. Any sort of physical activity will do: treat yourself to a brisk walk with family, go for a run, or play some tennis with your nephew.

2) Eat Half Portions
I always go back for seconds. There's something about that second plate of food that adds extra satisfaction to a big holiday meal.

3) Wait to Go Back For Seconds
Most people know that our stomachs tell our brains "I'm full!" with about a 20-25 minute lag. The reason it's so easy to overeat is simply because Mr. Brain doesn't think to tell Mr. Hand to stop ramming food into Mr. Mouth until it's much too late.
4) Don't Clear Your PlateOne of the less-than-helpful traditions dating from the Great Depression is the maxim, usually told to us by our parents, to clean your plate. Well, guess what? The rules have changed. You don't have to obey your parents, and it's not the Depression anymore (although, now that I think about it, what if history repeats itself and it is the Depression again?).

5) Skip Lunch
Another idea to save yourself a few hundred calories is to skip lunch entirely. Normally, I wouldn't recommend skipping meals, but these are the holidays--you're surrounded by food all day long, and you're likely to end the day with an enormous dinner. You certainly aren't going to starve. If there's any meal you won't miss on days like today, it's lunch.

To read more go to  http://casualkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/12/15-creative-tips-to-avoid-holiday.html.