How to avoid weight gain around Christmas

How to avoid Christmas party Splurges!

Tis the season to be jolly and tis also the season to put on heaps of weight! which in my experience doesn’t make people very jolly!

I thought this might be a useful blog for those of you that are about to embark on your christmas parties over the next few weeks.

How to minimise the damage of Christmas parties/drinks

1. Find out what the menu is before you arrive.  This way you can be prepared.  If the menu doesn’t look great then find out if there are alternatives that you can have, and if that’s not possible then I would eat something before you go so that you are not tempted by the fried and fatty entree or you can leave out the chips that are on the side etc
2. Never turn up to christmas drinks hungry!  You know you will end up devouring the whole cheese platter that someone has put out or you will end up eating the wedges that your friends have ordered.  Always eat a filling meal before going out.
3. Minimise the sugar from alcohol and choose drinks that have a lower sugar content.
   Red wine has only 0.25tsp of sugar per 250ml glass
   Dry White wine has  0.25tsp of sugar per 175ml glass – notice the glass size difference.
   A pint of Lager has 2 Tsps of sugar whilst
   A pint of pear cider has 8 Tsps of sugar!!!
   And if you add orange juice, cordial or soft drinks to any of your spirits it will send your sugar intake soaring.
4. Try one glass of alcohol to one glass of water approach.  This way you will drink less and stay hydrated so hopefully your hangover (and the hangover food that goes with it) will be kept to a minimum. All too often its the extra food that you eat, due to being tipsy at the end of the night or hungover the next day, that can topple the balance of the scales.
5. If you do find yourself over indulging then its time to over indulge at the gym to work it off!  What excess goes in must be burnt off or it stays in as fat.  Add an extra few walks to your week or an rpm class etc
6. Make sure you get enough sleep.  Schedule some time to catch up on sleep, as with a lack of sleep your body will crave sugary foods to keep you awake.  Sleep deprivation will also alter your bodies natural cortisol curve and potentially make it challenging to get out of bed and to fall asleep at night.  Look after your ‘whole’ self this christmas and think about what YOU need.

My christmas party this year consisted of a cooking lesson, which we then got to eat what we cooked.  Yummy Cajun Salmon with a healthy greek yoghurt dressing, I will put the recipe up soon.  Yes, there was wine involved but I stuck to the wine/water combo and didn’t have to binge eat due to being hungover and had a lovely swim the next morning to burn some extra wine off!  Win win.

For anymore tips and hints on how to lose weight feel free to get in touch.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year

Nicki xx