Surviving Xmas
1. Plan ahead – work party/nibbles etc eat a little les during the day. Be ready to politely say no when offered sugary treats that you will regret in the morning.
2. Aim for maintenance rather than weight loss – realistically are you going to lose weight over the festive period? This is a tricky time to navigate when you are watching what you eat. Be real with yourself and decide if you would be better off still keeping track of what you eat, but focusing more on maintaining your weight, keeping up your routines, staying active, and enjoying the season. That’s not to say you can’t decide to lose weight through December, but decide on what is most important to you, and what is achievable for you.
3. Look for healthy options – there will often be healthy options at parties/buffets etc. Look for the fruit salad, veggies and humous, lean meats etc
4. Get some fibre in your diet – fibre helps you feel fuller for longer, meaning you won’t crave the treats as much. Its also packed with nutrients meaning you will feel and perform better! Fruit, veggie, beans, chickpeas (humous), oats, popcorn, nuts, all offer a great source of fibre.
5. Focus on your Protein – keeps you full, maintains muscle mass which keeps you metabolism jacked up and burning more kcals throughout the day.
6. Eat a smaller portion – it’s very easy to get over excited at a Christmas party (or any party for that matter) and fill your plate right to the top with all the tasty treats. But to avoid that stuffed turkey feeling a short while later, give yourself a smaller serving, focus on protein first, then carbs and veggies/fruit, and allow 20 minutes after you finish that serving to see how you feel once the food settles. You may well find you are satisfied and don’t need any more food.
7. 80% Rule – The people of the Okinawa region of Japan are amongst a few small communities around the world with the highest number of centenarians (people who live to be 100 years old). Among a few lifestyle habits which lead them to live such long healthy lives, is the 80% rule. The purposely stop eating when they feel ‘80% full’. In the western world, many have become used to feeling stuffed after eating, but this is neither comfortable nor necessary. Try stopping at 80% full next time you eat/go out and see how you feel for the rest of the evening.
8. Stay hydrated – it is important to stay hydrated any time of the year to ensure your body functions properly. But at Christmas time with treats and temptation everywhere, drinking enough H2O may also mean you fill up quicker and eat less. Try to drink water at regular intervals throughout the day, especially first thing in the morning, and before/during a meal.
9. Easy on the salt – salty foods are all too common, but extra salt can cause your body to hold onto excess water and bloat. This can be uncomfortable and also make you feel like your hard hours in the gym and careful eating over recent weeks have been wasted, leading to ‘ahh what the hell’ binges. Be cautious with crisps, salty snacks and cheeses, as these all often have high salt.
10. Go easy on the sweets – if someone in the office is passing round a box of celebrations/roses/quality street, be ready to say no thank you and pass it on. If you have decided you don’t want/need one, don’t hesitate, pass the box along and go back to what you were doing. If you decide you do want a sweet, great crack on, but if it’s not in your plan and you will regret it afterwards, be certain with your answer and go back to thinking about how good you will feel when you survive Christmas and come out the other side fitter, leaner and happier than ever!
11. Offer to host the Xmas party – if there is talk of a Christmas party or gathering, why not offer to host!? That way you can be in charge of the food and drink options, and make sure there are healthy options for you and your guests, rather than stacks and stacks of high sugar/fat/salt options that you know won’t fit well with you healthy lifestyle.
12. Choose lower Kcal alcohol – sugary cocktails or pints of beer will obviously smash through you daily energy requirements quicker than a gin and tonic. Plan ahead and consider some healthier options before a night out or Xmas party. Just because it’s a liquid rather than a solid, unfortunately doesn’t mean its calorie free!
13. Have a healthy eating buddy at parties – most challenges are easier with a friend. Find someone going to the Christmas party that is also trying to stay healthy this festive period. Support each other to stay focused on your long term goal and remind each other how good you will feel having successfully navigated the holidays without putting back on those 7lbs you have already lost!
14. Stay active this festive period – burn of any extra calories over this indulgent season by getting out and active with friends/family. Long winter walks with the family, getting those steps up around the Christmas markets, ice skating with friends. These will all help keep your metabolism up and enable you to feel less guilty about those extra treats you wouldn’t necessarily indulge in at other times of the year.
15. Congratulate yourself - when you manage to navigate a tricky situation which could have ended with you binging on the left-over quality street you found in the staff room, give yourself a pat on the back. This dopamine surge will renew your self-belief and recharge your motivation to keep on with your healthy lifestyle choice!
16. Look out for low calories treats – gone are the days where health food tasted like cardboard! Low calorie options are now surprisingly tasty! Just because you are trying to stay on track with your healthy eating, doesn’t mean you don’t deserve treat! Look out for healthy, low kcal alternatives like Halo Top ice-cream, or low-calorie syrups.
17. Get your protein, veg and fibre in early – We all know protein is the one macronutrient which slips if we are not intentional with our eating. if you are going out in the evening, try to make sure your first couple of meals that day are weighted towards lean protein, veggies, and fibre. If you can also keep the overall calories a little lower than usual, you can then go into the evening knowing that you have enough protein to fuel your hard earned gym gains, fruit/vegetables and fibre to fill you up, and you have calories left that you can enjoy indulging without guilt.
18. Bank your calories – if you are counting calories/macros, and you know you will be out for a big feed on a certain day, could you reduce your daily calories slightly for a couple of days, meaning you have a deficit when it comes to your indulgent eating out experience. This way if you do overeat on one day, it will have been counteracted by a couple of days of healthier eating and slightly lower energy intake.
19. Make only one trip to the buffet – this means you will have to use your willpower only once. Stay strong for that one trip to the buffet, fill your plate with healthy nutritious options (and perhaps one treat – it is Christmas after all), and then when you get back to your chair, you have a plate of healthy food which fits with your nutrition goals, and you don’t have to stay strong another two or three times when you go back to the buffet to collect a few items again each time.
20. Pick your event – with so many social obligations over this period, it would be easy to overeat consistently for 4+ weeks. I don’t need to tell you that this will dramatically impact your body composition and your performance in the gym. You may find it easier to stay healthy at certain events, if at the start of the month/week you decide on one or two events that you really want to let loose one and save yourself for those nights. This way you will be able to stay motivated during the dull work function without being drawn to the below average, sugary treats, safe in the knowledge that you have that one party next Saturday where you can fully go all in and relieve all guilt knowing that you have stayed on track for the whole month, ready to really enjoy this blowout without guilt!
21. Draw a line under the weekend – things happen! Sometimes the best nights are unplanned. They are also not always in line with our fitness goals. Wallowing and beating yourself up about that one big splurge will not change the past. It may ruin the memory of it for you though. Whatever the weekend held – come Monday morning, draw a line under it, shake it off, and start a fresh. Start the day right with a healthy breakfast, don’t punish yourself for the weekend. Starving yourself for the next three days will only make you feel tired and lethargic, meaning your training is half hearted, meaning you feel bad again.
Come Monday – refuel, reset, and attack the new week with a clear mind!
