A slew of diet pitfalls arrive with the fall season—football barbecues and tailgates, Halloween candy, pies, cakes, and sugary holiday treats. To prevent your shredded summer body from turning into an autumn nightmare, you need to use restraint. For help with that we turned to Robert Reames, a Gold’s Gym Fitness Institute trainer and nutritionist.
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BYOM—Bring Your Own Meats
Top picks at football tailgates and BBQs include an assortment of fried foods, fatty dips, and meats slathered with sugary glazes and sauces. If you’re easily tempted—and who doesn’t enjoy fried lard nuggets with cheese on a brisk autumn day?—fight the urge to pig out by bringing your own lean meats to grill. “You can still eat good food and make smarter choices by opting for things like turkey or chicken breasts, grass-fed beef, and grilled shrimp,” Reames suggests.
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Jason Houston
DIY Soup
Soups are easy to make, and can serve as a pick-me-up on chilly or blustery days. But the canned variety isn’t always your healthiest option. “Most commercial soups have a ton of sodium,” explains Reames. “Homemade soups are a great way to control sodium intake and weight control because they take longer to eat. Avoid cream-based soups, and instead go with chicken or veggie broth.”
Consuming too much sodium can lead to heart failure, kidney stones, stroke, and high blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends consuming 1,500mg or less per day; most Americans, according to the AHA, consume roughly 3,400mg per day.
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Beware Of Pumpkin-flavored Everything
“The autumn theme is pumpkin—muffins, pies, lattes, and most of them are loaded with sugar, starch, and, sometimes, fat,” he says.
Need a pumpkin fix? Try pumpkin seeds. OK, so they’re not too pumpkiny in terms of taste, but eating a handful provides more than 8g of protein and contains iron, zinc, magnesium, and potassium.
“Pumpkin lattes are sugar bombs,” explains Reames. “The syrup they put in there has a lot of calories too.” His suggestion: make a green tea latte.
“Coffee shops typically have a fantastic array of green teas, which contain anti-cancer and fat-burning properties,” he adds. “Put in a little nonfat milk and you’ve got a makeshift green tea latte.”
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Handle Dessert with Care
When you decide to indulge on something sweet, do it methodically so you don’t go overboard. “Cookies and pastries go down easy but create a propensity for more of that type of consumption,” says Reames. “Nonfat Greek yogurt, high-fiber fruit, nuts, and a little bit of honey can really feel like a treat. It’s also a great tool for weight control.”
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Don’t Go to Parties Starving
No matter what season it is, eating small meals throughout the day can help keep cravings under control. However, as people get into the holiday spirit, that game plan often gets replaced with an erratic eating schedule filled with oversized portion sizes. “If you go to a party starving and have a few drinks, it’s all over,” warns Reames. “The alcohol will lower your inhibitions and you’ll eat everything in sight.”
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Be Mindful of Sugar Content
From October through January, sugary treats are practically at every turn. So as much as it seems like a no-brainer, it’s worth the reminder: keep tabs on how much sugar you consume. “There’s no shortage of candy, cakes, and cookies served at holiday parties, so reminding people to watch their sugar intake and to make better choices is never a bad idea,” Reames says. Agreed.
