1. Prepare your own snacks and nibbles from scratch
Instead of loading up on pre-packaged goodies from the supermarket, try preparing all your Christmas snacks from scratch. In doing this, you can completely omit the additional nasties such as preservatives and artificial ingredients, you can control the addition of sugar, simple carbohydrates and bad fats! Some examples to try could include oat and coconut Christmas tree cookies or creating your own low-carb pita served with homemade dips.
2. Keep hydrated avoiding over consumption of alcohol
Water plays an essential role in weight-loss. Hunger can o en be mistaken for thirst, so staying hydrated will assist in over-eting. It also increases metabolism and energy levels as well as keeping you from drinking other high energy and sugary drinks. If you struggle to get water in, try infusing water with slices of fruit and vegetable such as lemon and orange, or lemon, cucumber and mint!
3. Don’t stop exercising
Keep active! Don’t let the holidays be your excuse to stop moving. Aim to knock out some activity in the morning by going for walks, paddle boarding, swimming at the beach or just getting outdoors! Not only will be this great for your waist line but your mindset as well.
4. Be Creative with healthy snacks
There are SO many fun ways to get fruit and vegetables out on the table that are also inviting to eat! For example, you could create a rainbow fruit platter, strawberry Santas, vegetable Christmas tree (capsicum, carrot, cherry tomatoes and cucumber sticks), or kiwi and berry wreath! There are so many options, so go on, get creative!
5. Downsize your plate
To avoid over-filling your plate, opt for a smaller sized one. We often eat what’s in front of us just because it’s there. A smaller sized plate will prevent you from eating too much when you’re no longer hungry!
6. Load up your plate with nutritious options first
When filling up your plate, try to opt for the most nutritious options available before loading up on the less nutritious items. You will be more likely to consume a lot more of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff!
7. Be strategic with your eating
To avoid over-eating try to adopt these little tricks while you eat:
1. Don’t fill up your fork until you’ve finished chewing your last mouthful
2. Try to eat until you’re 80% full
3. Have water 30 minutes before your meal
4. Try having a break from eating before finishing meal
5. Eat slower. Eating more slowly means you’ll become full before over-eating as your body has time to send signals of satiety to the brain to tell us to stop eating.
8. Getting enough sleep
Sleep is absolutely essential to weight-loss as it aids in balancing hormone levels, assists with maintaining a normal appetite as well as metabolism. Not to mention, being tired impairs our judgment often causing us to skip exercise, drink more coffee and crave more food causing us to over-eat. Aim for 7-9 hours sleep over the Christmas period to ensure your body continues to function optimally!
9. Don’t let one day de-rail you
Often one or two days, or even a week, of over-indulging sets us back mentally. Be kind on yourself and don’t let this stop you from getting back on track once the festivities are over!
10. Be realistic with any goals and don’t forget to still enjoy yourself!
During the Christmas period it’s inevitable that your progress or routine will be effected in some way and this is perfectly fine. After all, this is a time for enjoying the company of family and friends
