3 Healthy Ways to Indulge Without Sabotaging Your Diet

So, you are on a diet and doing great, you are sticking to the diets guidelines and not cheating (too much), but then a holiday comes around and you are put in a situation where eating a ton of food is tradition. We have all been in this situation before! It is difficult to get back on the diet once you have gone so far off the rails, so what do you do?

A lot of this is going to be a battle of will, but here are 3 ways you can indulge in a healthy way without sabotaging your diet:

1. Be mindful of what you are eating

Only eat the foods you absolutely adore and leave the food that you don’t care so much about behind. Before piling that mound of mash potatoes on your plate, you should ask yourself, “do I really really really want this?” If the answer is ‘Oh YEAH!’ then take a small portion to start with, you can always go back for a little more if you are still hungry after clearing your plate.
You can’t change the food you ate at the party last night, but you can control how much you eat today. Don’t let yourself go completely off the rails because of one minor slip-up with your diet during a special occasion.

2. Celebrate special occasions by doing something physical

Stop looking at exercise like work that you need to get done. You can do plenty of fun physical things with friends and family during special occasions that keep you looking slim. Why not go out for a long walk with your family? Long walks are a great time to catch up and chat away while exercising your legs and burning calories.

3. Prepare the same food, but with less of the fatty toppings

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without sweet potatoes and the big Turkey right? No reason to substitute those out, just be mindful of what you are putting on top of them. Cut down on the amount of gravy you use and stop putting marshmallows and cream on your sweet potatoes! Go back to the basics and let the ingredients speak for themselves. Not only is this still delicious, it cuts down on calories!