Irish dance diet - Four ways to celebrate without food

Enjoy Christmas foods while on the Irish dance diet Photo: flickr user wiccked

The holidays can be a challenging time to lose weight. You and I can do it with a little bit of planning.
After all, there are other ways to celebrate!

I really didn't want to post an update on my Irish dance diet this month. Yes, I did lose weight, but I gained it back last week over the long holiday weekend. I didn't want to post about my failure to lose this month, but I decided that many of you may struggle with holiday weight as well. I'm going to re-commit myself and find healthy ways to enjoy the holidays. Are you with me?

This month I've been faithfully attending my Irish dance classes, one for adults and the other for Intermediate level for all ages. I feel good about my dancing, better than I have for a long time. My teacher is focusing on basics and muscle training, and I can feel my muscles growing stronger. Now I need to tackle my food habits.

If you have any suggestions for me, please leave them in the comments.

Here are a few tips for curbing the urge to celebrate with food:

1-When eating out, ask yourself, is this a special occasion?  If it is, splurge a little and make up for it earlier in the day or the next day.  If not, eat similar to how you would at home.

2-Find non-food ways to celebrate. Reward yourself with a bubble bath, a new book, some great smelling lotion, or a night out at the movies.

3-Bring a healthy contribution to an event. If you are attending a Christmas party and you don't have control over the meal, bring a healthy salad or entree for your part of the meal. At least you know one thing that you will be able to eat. And bring some healthy portable snacks with you. If the food selection is too high in calories, you don't actually have to eat it.  You can survive a few hours without food and the snacks you bring will tide you over.

4-Have a water in hand. Drink plenty of water all day to fill you up and keep you satisfied.  If you have a glass of water in your hand at a party, you will be less likely to snack on high calorie hors d'oeuvres.