The Christmas and the New Year period can be a hectic time. Parties, family gatherings, end of year work events, and catch ups with friends frequently overwhelm our schedules. These events can also overwhelm our waistlines if we’re not careful. But, with a bit of planning, conscious contemplation of eating and drinking habits, and ensuring we keep practicing healthy behaviors, avoiding Christmas weight gain can be limited, even avoided. Read on to discover how.
1. Eat Mindfully
Learning to bring your full awareness to what you are eating and drinking can help to limit excessive consumption. Take your time to savor food and enjoy every mouthful. Try to eat only when you’re hungry, not just because you can, or because the food is there. Pace yourself, acknowledge when you’ve had sufficient, and take time to digest and listen to your body. Eat in a calm environment, preferably sitting down with two feet on the floor and sitting up straight. Eat with the intention that you are in full view of others.
2. Plan Ahead
Turning up hungry where there is a delicious Christmas buffet can be a recipe for disaster and leave us quickly reaching to undo a top button. Try eating a nourishing snack before you head out to help keep from going overboard. Vegetables sticks with hummus, yoghurt with berries, or an egg on toast can be good options to sample.
Remembering to be well hydrated prior to joining a celebratory drinking event is crucial to avoid dehydration and a nasty headache. Don’t forget to alternate one alcoholic drink for a glass of water throughout the night as well. If you’re heading out to a restaurant, reading the menu online beforehand, making sure to choose a more healthful option, can help things in check.
3. Stay Accountable
Keeping a food diary or logging your food and drinks into a calorie calculator can be a useful activity to avoid overindulging. MyFitnessPal and Cronometer are just two handy phone apps that easily add up calories. Alternatively, try simply handwriting all that you eat and drink into a notebook. Seeing everything written down in front of you can help to bring awareness to your food and drink consumption. If you find logging your intake too onerous, consider keeping regular appointments with your dietitian or health coach. Knowing you’ll be checking in with them can help to keep you on track and accountable.
4. Limit Choices
Setting some boundaries for yourself, prior to heading out to a celebration, can be a helpful way to avoid overindulging. You might like to consider choosing to only enjoy your favorite foods, skipping on all the rest. For example, saying no thanks to the trifle and pavlova, and just having a slice of Christmas pudding. Alternatively, practicing portion control, by taking smaller servings and not getting up for seconds. Or, agreeing with yourself that you’ll pass on the hors d’oeuuvres, nibbles, cheese and crackers, but enjoy the fresh seafood. You could try filling up on salads, veggies and turkey first, before deciding if you need the cheesy potato bake.
5. Keep Moving
Continuing to keep up your daily movement and exercise routine is important. Get your steps in, take regular walks, and maintain whatever activity you enjoy the most. Regular active movement helps digestion, keeps our weight in balance, our moods calm, and bodies energized. If you’re short on time, remember that doing a little bit of something is better than doing nothing at all.
Enjoy Yourself
After extended lockdowns and time apart from friends and family, we are all craving connection and celebration. It’s a time to enjoy ourselves and get out of our houses. But enjoying Christmas party festivities does not need to lead to over-indulgence and more kilos on the scale if we are mindful of our behavior. Consider which of these practices might fit best into your lifestyle and give one or two a go.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all the team at Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatic Surgery.