So it’s Christmas time! But after the endless amount of chocolates, nibbly bits, extra glass of mulled wine here and there as well as the cheese and biscuits, you may find you are heading for that all too familiar over indulgence feeling come the 1st January. You could spend the rest of the year convincing yourself you’ll start your diet and drinking less next month. ‘I need junk food to get me through this hangover’ ‘We still have chocolate and wine to get through’, ‘I want to have that before we start…’ Sound familiar?!
But, wouldn’t it be great if this year was different? Instead of attempting to start a new strict diet on the 1st January and dwindling by 3pm, why not start a healthier lifestyle now, one you can maintain? Keeping the overindulgence to a minimum will make it easier come January to start a healthier way of living.
Here are 5 tips for keeping those calories down but your spirits up this Christmas:
You can get a triple whammy benefit from this – cutting down the number of calories, relieving pressure on your liver and other organs, and keeping you hydrated for a lighter hangover the next day!
It sounds simple, but if you don’t buy them, you won’t eat them. Even more important, you wont get used to them being around and there always been food to graze on. However, if you fancy something for you and your guests to nibble on, switch some of your snacks to less calorific, higher nutrient version. You could swap breadsticks and sour cream and chive dip for carrots/cucumber and hummus, Celebrations to dark chocolate covered mini rice cakes or chocolate orange to Nakd cocoa orange bits.
It doesn’t have to be much, but getting your mind and body into the routine of exercise during December, will make it so much easier to continue through into January and beyond. Start by getting out for even a 1k walk, three times a week or getting into a class at your local gym / .
Cut out the sugar hit of the pudding and get yourself a warming drink instead. Alternatively, lower calorie pudding like fruit salad (fruits like berries, apples, pears and apricots don’t cause such a sugar high and have added superfood benefits such as antioxidants and vitamins) or berries with meringue and yogurt.
The hardest thing, at all times of year, but particularly Christmas is dealing with peer pressure. Some people don’t want you to avoid joining in with everything as it either makes them reflect on their own over indulgence or your spoiling their fun. However, if you can be strong and just make a few changes, say no a few times, it will give you the strength to make small changes bit by bit to improve your lifestyle long term. And trust me, when you say you fancy a coffee instead of another alcoholic drink, you won’t be the only one!