The holidays are a time of joy, fun, and good food but they can be tough if you have type II diabetes or prediabetes.

Managing the stress of holiday parties and get togethers while maintaining healthy lifestyle choices is tougher this time of year and causes many to fall into bad patterns that aren’t easily broken.

Most people gain weight during the holidays.  Like the freshman fifteen, there’s often the holiday fifteen!  For many of us, this is a temporary lapse in self-control but when struggling with type II diabetes, prediabetes, or other health conditions, the consequences become much more scary!

Here are my tips to survive the holiday season when you have type II diabetes or prediabetes:

P.s. I am also currently running a holiday weight loss challenge!  If you’d like to attack this potential problem head on, you can get started any time before January 7th.  Call me at 210-391-6790 to come in to the office for a free consult to discuss the program.  If you win, the first prize is $1000!

#1 Reduce Sugar and Carb Consumption

The holidays are full of carby treats that can send your blood sugar on a crazy roller coaster.  It is important to make smart choices here.

If you are a dessert person, skip the potatoes and starchy carbs during the meal in favor of a reasonable slice of dessert.  If you don’t care for sweets but favor starch, skip dessert so you can enjoy those holiday sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes and gravy.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here are some examples of carb-heavy dishes that you should avoid eating too much of at the holidays: mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, stuffing, beans, breads and rolls, corn, candied nuts, meats in sweet sauces like brown sugared or honey hams (depending on the amount of sauce), fruit salads in whipped cream, cakes, cookies, pies, chocolates, desserts of any kind and alcoholic drinks.

#2 Bring a healthy dish

If the party you are going to is a potluck, you’re in luck.

Make a low-carb main dish to bring that you know is safe for you to eat.

The best bet is to bring a vegetable or protein that you know is safe and mostly eat that.  You can add small portions of other dishes and still be participating and enjoying without totally overdoing it.

#3 Start with Veggies

Green vegetables like spinach, broccoli, and salads (easy on the sweet dressings) are the perfect place to start your meal.  The fiber will fill you up and make overindulging in other things less likely. 

Start by eating your vegetables, trying to find veggies not cooked in cream sauces, and then move to protein.  Put reasonable portions on your plate like 1-2 cups of vegetables and 3-6 ounces of protein.

Once you consume those two things, the rest of the meal should be delicious but easy to moderate.

#4 Reduce Alcohol

This is a tough one, but alcohol is not your friend when you are dealing with type II diabetes and prediabetes.

Drinking directly affects blood sugar and can make carb counting confusing.

During the holiday season try to limit drinks to one per occasion, have them with food, and stick to lower-carb drinks like vodka tonics and ketogenic red or white wine.  Champagne and dry wines have less sugar.

Skipping drinks and having fizzy beverages like mineral waters is a great way to feel like you are part of the party without overindulging.

#5 Exercise

The temptation during the holidays is to stay cozy indoors, but boosts of high intensity exercise and walking will help keep you healthy and help burn off some of the extra sugar.

It’s not enough to just exercise, we have to eat right too but when you have more carbs that normal, the sugar hangover can be miserable!

If you can hit the gym after a big meal or go for a long walk, your body will be able to get rid of some of that sugar which does help!

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Don’t forget that I’m here to help if you need customized nutrition advice.  My weight loss program is great for type II diabetics and prediabetics.  Contact me here for more info!