HEALTHY MANHATTAN: Eating a Little Healthier for the Holidays

It's easy to overeat during the holidays, but Nicole Perry said it’s just so hard to turn down extra helpings from her grandmother.

“They take it personally,” said the Soho resident. “You know, ‘You don’t like my cooking, you don’t like me.’” Pushy relatives, delicious home-cooked meals and an abundance of seasonal sweets make a recipe for a health disaster over Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa. No wonder gym memberships go up in January, according to Technogym Fitness consultant Marcus Eave. Pecan pie, apple pie, latkes, jelly donuts, baked potatoes... how can you say no?

You don’t always have to. Two New York fitness experts laid down the law: With the right attitude, you can enjoy your favorite foods while staying as trim as the tinsel.

Pick and Choose This year, the Brackbills are hoping to have a healthier holiday while keeping the pie and potato staples.

“Recently we just started eating organic and using whole wheat to bake. I’ve been doing research,” said Sarah Brackbill, of Rego Park, Queens, who was relaxing recently with her husband and three little kids at Bryant Park. “Instead of just refined sugar we’re using things like honey.”

The difficult thing, she added, is attending other people’s parties. Goodies are always around, even in the office—and that’s why it’s so easy to gain weight during the holidays, said Heidi Skolnik, resident nutritionist at The Juilliard School. How can you say no to a bowl full of pecan turtles on the conference room table?

“A pecan turtle or any of these really heavy drinks, whether it’s eggnog or a pumpkin spice frappe made with whipped cream—it’s like an ice cream sundae,” said Skolnik. According to About.com, an average cup of eggnog has about 343 calories and 19 grams of fat. According to Starbucks, a Grande Pumpkin Spice Latte with 2-percent milk is 380 calories.

Candy canes, on the other hand, are not nearly as caloric. A standard 0.5-oz. Spangler peppermint candy cane has 40 calories. “They’re one of the best things you can choose,” said Skolnik. “Unless you’re munching on them, they take a long time to eat.” So they might be a better choice to satisfy your sweet tooth, rather than a “pecan turtle.”

Goodies are always around, even in the office—and that’s why it’s so easy to gain weight during the holidays. How can you say no to a bowl full of pecan turtles on the conference room table?

Having hot green tea helps with cravings, Skolnik said, as well as substituting skim milk for whole in hot chocolate, or just avoiding the dessert basket at work. “Don’t even look,” she said. “It doesn’t have your name on it.”

Also keep in mind the best holiday foods don’t have to be sugary. Skolnik said that ham, turkey and sweet potatoes are actually really healthy and high in protein.

“They’re grain proteins, rich embedded carotene...they have fiber. It’s real food,” she said.

Just remember that food high in starch can be just as bad as dessert. “Your body can’t read between a Hershey bar and a white potato,” advised Eave, the fitness consultant.

Keep that Heart Pumping A consistent cardio routine helps Michael Quinlan eat his favorite holiday dish —double-baked potatoes— without guilt. “It’s easier to run in the summertime, but I don’t do resolutions,” said the Upper West Sider. “It’s only once a year.”

Upping the cardio in a regular workout routine helps battle the abundance of sugar consumed in December. But Eave said if you’re going to do it, you need to have a dedicated routine at least four times a week.

“You’re not on the treadmill thinking, ‘Oh, I’m going to watch the Kardashians, it’s 40 minutes, I can just do it.’” said Eave. “That’s not training to me. You’re not going to go anywhere with that.”

Eave’s plan of attack is to put down the remote and do interval training like 30 seconds of sprinting “like you’re catching the last bus out of town,” recovering for about two minutes, and doing it all over again. But, Eave warns, don’t waste time doing more than 20 or 30 minutes of cardio, and don’t forget to stretch.

Relax, It Is the Holidays “Don’t beat yourself up too much,” advised Eave. “If we’re going into December where you’re going to a lot of Christmas parties, then make sure for the rest of the day you eat clean... save yourself for your evening activities.”

Skolnik agrees that it’s OK to slip up every once in a while—especially if it’s just a few weeks a year—but added that people need to be realistic about their weightmaintaining and weight-loss goals.

“It really started at Halloween and it just ends at Easter,” Skolnik said of the Great American Candy Binge. “You’re not all of a sudden going to the gym if you never went before... it doesn’t work like that.”

The holidays can be a scary, guilt-ridden time concerning our waistlines. But focus on year-round lifestyle decisions, rather than yo-yo dieting your way around December. With the right attitude, you won’t have to look back at this year’s holiday photos and insist the camera added five pounds.