When it comes to eating during the holidays, we immediately think of the holiday parties and the big family dinners because those are the events with the big spread of food. There are the moments that you likely struggle to choose the healthy option. But what if I told you that eating certain foods before you even get to the party can help you make better choices at the party? And eating certain foods after the party will help you recover faster from your food hangover. Be sure to listen to this episode before your next holiday party. And my fellow MS sisters, if you want a more personalized approach to creating your MS diet and lifestyle, check out my private coaching program. It includes a comprehensive assessment, personalized strategies, and lifestyle support.

Each month, I only accept three new clients. So if you're interested, apply now at Alenebrennan. com/ coach. Now onto today's episode. There are 1 million people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the US. So that makes you one in a million. And you have a special purpose in this world that no diagnosis can take away from you. So if you are ready to reclaim your body, mind and life from multiple sclerosis, welcome to my MS podcast. I'm your host, Alene Brennan. Do you eat any differently during the day if you know you're going to a holiday party or a family dinner that night? I've been a nutrition coach for over 15 years now, and one of the most common answers to this question is often skipping breakfast or even eating ultra light throughout the day so that you can really indulge at the party.

People say that they're saving their calories or they're saving room for quote unquote, the good stuff that they don't want to fill up too much before the party. Let me tell you how this plays out from a nutrition perspective. By skipping meals the day of a holiday party, you can easily throw your blood sugar levels completely out of balance. And this is going to make you feel tired, moody, hello hangry, so that by the time you get to the party, you're making a beeline for the closest dish and you're not holding back. At this point, everything tastes and smells so good. So you're going to town. P. S. I say you. But this has definitely applied to me over the years too.

And we likely get a little boost of energy when we start eating because those blood sugar levels are starting to come back to life. But the problem is they spike so fast that before the meal is over, you're feeling so stuffed and so exhausted. So how could you take a different approach? The message that I'm sharing with you today is relevant whether you feel like you kind of fall into this, I'll say trap, of trying to conserve energy, calories, space, whatever it may be before a holiday party. Or even if you're like, Alene, that doesn't really apply to me, but I sure want to stack the odds in my favor of choosing the healthiest food options when I'm at a holiday party, because I don't want to choose the bad stuff and then feel like garbage afterwards.

So here's a different approach. Here are some things that you can do the day of a holiday party that will help to set you up for success, that will help you to naturally be more inclined to choose the healthier options that are served there, because that's what we want. We want this to be more intuitive. We don't want this to feel like a constant struggle with every single decision. So, that starts with eating a protein-based breakfast within the first hour of waking so you can start to support stable blood sugar levels, not only in the morning, but throughout the day too. And my friends, as always, please keep in mind that this is general recommendations. This is not anything that is personalized to any individual.

So you always have to filter the information that I'm sharing in a broad setting like this to how this applies to your specific needs and diet. But generally speaking, having a protein-based breakfast within the first hour of waking up can really support some good stable blood sugar levels. And again, not just in the morning, but throughout the day. That first meal of the day that so many people are tempted to skip is what can help to set you up for success throughout the day. I've shared many times before that I eat a very non-traditional breakfast. I don't eat gluten, dairy, or eggs. So that eliminates 90% of the standard American breakfast options, including what do we have here? Bagels, eggs, waffles, pancakes, muffins, even cereal and yogurt.

Like it really washes out so many breakfast options. So I tend to have more non-traditional breakfast. I'll have things like a chicken pot pie or a shepherd's pie. And if I'm in a pinch for time, I'll have a smoothie with some coconut milk, berries, a banana, spinach, and some collagen protein. So collagen is my protein in this situation here. But I also may just have leftovers for breakfast. Or as I said, that chicken pot pie or my version of the shepherd's pie, which is loaded with lots of veggies and has a cauliflower mash on top instead of like regular mashed potatoes. That helps to give me some good protein first thing in the morning. And then for lunch, I'll focus on lots of veggies and again, some healthy fat and quality protein.

Honestly, most times this is a salad with leafy greens, carrots, cucumbers. I actually enjoy adding a little bit of celery. I don't do it all the time, but I feel like the flavor of it, just a nice little hit. Tomatoes, apples. I definitely love having apples in there because they have that sweetness. They have a good crunch to them. And then avocado, that's great, healthy fat, and just helps me to feel more satiated because sometimes if you're not adding a fat, or protein. But specifically, if you're not adding a fat into your salad, you're most likely feeling so hungry within a short time after having your salad. So I load up on the veggies and then I get some good quality fat through the avocado and my salad dressing, and then some protein with the chicken.

This helps me to feel like I'm getting a good serving of veggies in before the event or whatever it is. And then the fiber in these veggies are going to feed the good bacteria in my gut. The fiber in the veggies are feeding the good bacteria in your gut. And that's so important because I want to stay ahead of that. I know that if I'm having a glass of alcohol or if I'm eating food that may still be gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg free, you know, all that allergy-friendly food, but maybe it's just cooked in oil that's not ideal or for whatever reason, it's just slightly off the path of my norm. Many of those choices can be foods that feed the bad bacteria. In our gut.

And we're always going to have good and bad bacteria in our gut. The key is making sure that the good guys always dominate. We want more good bacteria than we want bad bacteria in there. So one of the ways that you can help to boost the odds in the good bacteria's favor is by giving yourself some good fiber. Not to mention the fiber in the veggies, along with a good serving of water throughout the day, can help you to stay ahead of some constipation from food that you may be eating at the party as well. I know we talk about all exciting things here, but poop is important. So we always want to identify how we can help support that. And then the healthy fat and protein are also helping to keep those blood sugar levels stable.

You're going to keep hearing me say that over and over again. Because when our blood sugar levels are more stable, again, it helps to support stable energy. It also can help reduce inflammation. And that's one of the key things that we're trying to do with managing an inflammatory condition like MS. But then going back to my salad. The other thing that I like about it is that it's a relatively light meal. I mean, if you typically skip lunch, because again, you want to prepare for the holiday event, whether you're, you know, again, saving the calories to indulge in the evening, or maybe you really want to look good in that holiday dress or feel a little bit better in those jeans, the salad is not going to be really heavy in your stomach.

But because you're including the fat in there, it's going to help keep you satiated. So it's not necessarily bloating you, but it is keeping you satiated. Now for the evening, it does depend upon what time the party is, but nine times out of 10, since I've been following the Wahls protocol, I have something to eat before a party. It's typically something light that gives me the option to eat if I see something that I want at the party, but it's also enough to hold me over. If they don't have anything that I can eat. So I try to focus on veggies and protein here. I don't go too heavy on the fat because that will keep me feeling full. And I don't want to feel too full by the time I get there.

I just want some veggies and protein to give me a little substance in my stomach there. And again, to help keep those blood sugar levels stable. So an example of this might be a small piece of chicken because I typically have some type of chicken in the fridge that I've meal prepped for that week. Or I might have an apple and a turkey stick. If I could do nut butter, I would love to do that option of having like some apple with some almond butter or even sunflower butter. Or I'll have a small portion of whatever leftovers we have in the fridge. And then, of course, if I'm really skeptical of what I'll be eating at a party, I might have a bigger snack like a smoothie or again, leftovers.

Those blood sugar levels. And as I said, this really helps to reduce inflammation in the body, which again is our big goal for managing MS. It is an inflammatory condition. But it's also going to help keep your hunger, mood, and cravings in check. So we may not realize this, but when our blood sugar levels get out of whack, then we can often have greater cravings. So this is why I say what you eat or don't eat during the day can really influence the cravings that you have in the evening. Again, I've shared that I used to run a nutrition department at a health club and so many of my clients there would say, 'Alene, I do great during the day. Like sometimes I don't even have anything until lunch or sometimes even dinner.

Like the daytime is not a problem for me because I'm so busy. So I don't even really think about food. But by the time I get home, it's game on in the kitchen. I just can't control myself. So what should I eat in the evening? And it was always like, no, no, no. It's not about what you're eating or not eating in the evening. It's about what's going on during the day. We need you to eat some food during the day. Ideally. Three well-balanced meals throughout the day, that is what will help to better support you in the evening and reduce those cravings and reduce that like hangry attack, I'll call it. So we really want to support some good stable blood sugar levels throughout the day, starting with a protein-based breakfast within the first hour of waking, loading up on the veggies, getting a serving of healthy fat and good quality protein at lunch, and then

pre-party before you go, have some good protein and another serving of veggies or fruit if you can get that in. You are far more likely to make better decisions when those blood sugar levels are stable and you're not feeling hangry. Okay, one last thing before the party. I might take some digestive enzymes with me because that will just give my gut a little help with digesting food that was prepared outside of my kitchen. So I'll bring them and maybe have them like 10 minutes before I am eating. They can just, again, give your gut a little boost, that little extra help with digesting those foods. Okay, now let's talk about what to eat after the party. One of the biggest things I do to recover from either eating too much or eating foods that are outside of my norm is to boost my water.

I'm not even telling you to eat kale. Just drink more water. I visualize it just like flushing my body out and it can give me a boost of energy. And even more so, it can give me a little boost with going to the bathroom. And that feels like a good emptying out too. So stay well hydrated. And I know that urinary frequency and urgency can be a struggle in the MS community. So don't chug water, like sip on it throughout the day, but make sure that you do have that water bottle continuously filled and that you are sipping on it throughout the day because that can really help. Listen, when you are better hydrated. Every cellular function in your body works better. It's water. It's free for the most part.

We get reverse osmosis and I think we pay like 30 cents a gallon. Like, water is not expensive. That's not an expensive supplement that's like standing in your way. It's water. Drink more of it. It helps to improve elimination, improve your digestion, improve energy. So much improves with water. So stay well hydrated. And then I'll likely repeat a day very similar to what I had the day before. I would just increase my leafy greens because they are loaded with so many vitamins and minerals that can support cellular function as well. And that in turn helps to create better energy and more mental clarity. Two things that I may not be experiencing the day after a holiday gathering. So how can you get a little extra water that next day?

And how can you really support those blood sugar levels? Again, The next day, protein-based breakfast within the first hour of eating. And I saw something a while ago that, and I don't even remember the source of it, but it was suggesting that the best hangover food, and I know we're not just talking about alcohol, we're talking about kind of like all the different things that you may be encountering, shall I say, at a holiday party. But I think one of the best hangover foods was like a spinach or a veggie omelet. And it was the protein in there, but there were so many vitamins and minerals in the spinach that was helping you. So really eat something good first thing in the morning. Try to pack the nutrients in as early as possible.

And I know that may not be tempting because maybe you're tired or maybe you're not feeling good from the food that you ate the night before. But if you're only continuing that path of like, 'eh, I already feel like garbage, so let me just grab this.' Something that you typically would never have. So choose the best option so that you can get back on your feet and enjoy the rest of the holiday events throughout the season. So let's do a quick recap here. Before the party, you're eating a protein-based breakfast within the first hour of waking. For lunch, you're loading up on those veggies and including some healthy fat and quality protein. Pre-party, you are having a light snack or a mini meal with some veggies and protein.

And then the day after the party, you are pushing that water, drink up my friend, cheers to good health, and you're boosting your greens and then following a similar three-meal-a-day plan to what we did the day of the party. Now, the overall goal, if you haven't heard it yet, is to stabilize those blood sugar levels, and eat the most nutrient-dense foods when you are at home so that you can keep your health and your body on track. Okay, as we know, the conversation continues over on AleneBrennan. com/backslash/ blog. Check out the blog post of today's episode so you can learn from the collective knowledge of all the tips and tricks of the fellow listeners here in this amazing community so you can stay healthy throughout the holiday season. Happy holidays, my friends. Well, my friend, we've reached the end of this episode. Pick one lesson from today's discussion and put it into action now. It's time to reclaim your body, mind and life from multiple sclerosis. And for more resources, events and programs, head over to Alenebrennan. com. See you on the next episode of my MS podcast.