‘Tis the
season to be jolly, but unfortunately the Christmas turkey is not usually the
only thing that gets stuffed over the holidays! To help you beat the
Christmas bulge, here are 10 tips to think about in the run-up to Christmas.
And which will hopefully allow you to enjoy the festivities without piling on
too many extra pounds…
1. Know the facts
The
average Christmas dinner contains more calories than the average adult needs in
an whole day (for some, almost double the amount). It can also contain the
amount of fat required for an entire week. When it comes to weight gain,
imagine you are going into battle, and be prepared. Prepared to beat the bulge!
2. What’s Christmas really about?
Christmas
is about faith, family and friends. Consumerism increasingly plays a part, but
try to think of food as a periphery item, a fringe benefit, and keep your mind
on what truly matters most.
3. Practice saying no
Aunt
Susan’s mince pies taste great. But do you really need to eat three to reach
that conclusion?! Yes it’s Christmas, but beating the bulge means being able to
say no thanks. Practice your responses. If you don’t feel comfortable telling
people that you are trying to trim up, perhaps a health-related excuse will be
more comfortable. Who’s going to argue with ‘I want to reduce my cholesterol so
I don’t have a heart attack?!’.
4. Enjoy the company
Are you
getting together with family and/or friends? Celebrate relationships, take
pleasure in the conversations, play games, start a new tradition…just be
together.
5. Eat Slowly
It takes
the stomach 15-20 minutes to tell the brain that it’s full. By then you’ve
potentially overeaten, especially during the holidays. Eat slowly, savouring
each bite. Tell yourself that if you’re still hungry 15-20 minutes after you
finish what’s on your plate, you can have more. But again, in moderation.
6. Small portions
Want to
taste it all? Then do just that- taste it. Just because you want to enjoy all
the food served during your family dinner, it doesn’t mean you need a full
portion of each dish. Take enough to allow yourself one or two bites of each
item. Serve yourself slightly larger portions of low fat items and turkey.
7. Don’t skip pudding
Really?
Don’t skip pudding?! Yes. If you deprive yourself, you may be setting yourself
up for greater temptation. Eat pudding, but take a small portion. Again, enjoy
every bite- so when you’re done, you can say ‘that was delicious’, instead of
‘I wish I could have more’.
8. Don’t hang out by the food
If you
park yourself by an open tin of Quality Street, you’re likely to clock up extra
calories before you even sit down to dinner. If you must eat between meals, try
to go for low calorie options. And don’t sit near temptation!
9. Drink water
Water is
great for many things weight-loss related. Rather than wine, make sure you have
a glass of water in your hand. Your hands and mouth will be occupied and it
will help to fill up your stomach a bit so you don’t overeat. Not to mention
benefits the morning after…
10. Limit alcohol consumption
Alcohol
provides ‘empty calories’ and no nutritional value. There are about 600
calories in a bottle of wine, so a few days of overindulgence have the
potential to equate to a serious amount of making up! If you are serious about
hitting your weight-loss goals, remember all the hard work and sweat that goes
into losing weight, and ask yourself whether that extra glass of wine is really
worth the effort…
Enjoy the
build up to Christmas, but remember that what you put into your body during the
Christmas period may make all the difference to the dress you’ll wear come New
Year’s Eve…
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