Christmas is coming…
The time is coming where all of the diets go out of the window, most of you fall off the wagon, and then just think there is no point in getting back on. Dwell in the misery of your pants getting tighter and wonder if life will ever be the same again. So here are some tips for dealing with Christmas:
1. Enjoy it! I know everyone thinks because I’m in nutrition that you have to eat healthily at Christmas. It’s a celebration so no feeling guilty about eating the wrong foods, or too much of them because that is what Christmas is all about.
2. Make a decision to make Christmas just last 2 days, not 2 weeks, then stop overeating after Boxing Day, and get back to eating normally and as healthily as you can until New Years Day. Making Christmas treats last 2 weeks will definitely mean coming back to eating healthily in the New Year will be harder than ever, so just decide to celebrate for 2 days and enjoy them.
3. Don’t overbuy cakes, sweets, biscuits, and desserts, work out how many you actually need for 2 days of celebration then leave it at that. The shops are great at enticing you to buy too much, but planning can not only help with weight pounds but also financial pounds!
4. Eat nuts and seeds in between meals instead of biscuits and cakes, they come in shells at this time of the year which makes them even better for you than normal because they are harder to overeat.
5. Remember alcohol carries calories, enjoy but don’t go overboard, you don’t want to end up on YouTube this Christmas…
6. The Christmas dinner isn’t actually that unhealthy, it’s the desserts, alcohol, cakes, and biscuits that follow for sometimes days afterward. Enjoy a good Christmas dinner and the one dessert and remember that most of this food is available all year round if you wanted it!
7. Don’t save yourself for the meal, going long periods of time without eating is more likely to make you eat more due to a hormone called ghrelin. This hormone likes you to be regular with timings so eat as normal as possible during this time.
8. Remember to drink water, particularly before meals, 2 cups of water before your meals will help to reduce how much you eat.
9. If you prioritise protein and fiber foods first over starchy carbohydrates you are more likely to eat less, and more nutritiously.
10. Be mindful of what you are eating, when you are offered more food, ask yourself do you really need it? Mostly we don’t at Christmas and we just eat because everyone around us is eating and it becomes too hard to say no when another pavlova is rolled out with double cream on it…
Roast potatoes are the favourite part of Christmas dinner for most people….
