Tips for weight management at Christmas

Aaah Christmas… a time of eating and drinking to excess. And it seems the topic on everyone’s lips at the moment is how to manage your weight over the festive season. If losing or maintaining weight is one of your goals, there are plenty of ways to still enjoy yourself but minimise the impact of all those mince pies, roast dinners and wine.

Drink lots of water
It’s vital that you drink 2 litres a day anyway, but because it’s easy to misinterpret feelings of thirst as feelings of hunger, ensuring you’re well hydrated will help prevent unnecessary snacking.

Plan meals ahead of time
If you know where you’re eating, why not check out the online menu and choose your (healthy option) meal in advance? It might mean you’re less likely to succumb to temptation or group pressure on the night. Meal planning also allows you to adapt your “normal” meals and exercise schedule around the special occasions, helping you feel more in control of your choices.

Don’t go out hungry
If you sit down hungry to a 3 course set-menu, that’s exactly what you’ll eat! Eating small, low-GI meals throughout the day will keep your energy levels up, and prevent you from gorging on all 3 courses.

Choose healthy alternatives
You can still choose your favourite meals, but try them with sauces on the side or with grilled meat. Generally, meals with tomato based sauces are better than those with creamy or cheese based sauces. Fill up on a salad before your main meal, or pick something with lots of side vegetables like carrots, beans, broccoli, peas and sweet potato.

Get dancing
30 minutes dancing with your girlfriends will burn around 150 calories – that’s the equivalent of 2 small glasses of white wine!

And lastly… watch what you drink
Alcohol is full of “empty” calories, meaning it has no nutritious qualities. If avoiding alcohol isn’t an option, try diluting your drinks (white wine and soda, champagne and orange juice), choosing white spirits with diet mixers (vodka and diet coke), or alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic drinks. Avoid cocktails and cream liqueurs at all costs.

Weight management is a very personal subject and only you know what’s likely to work for you over Christmas. So, whether you’ve the dedication of a Saint and intend to continue with a weight loss program, or you’re OK with “damage mitigation” – it’s completely up to you. Personally, I’m of the latter persuasion… but any tricks to help minimise feelings of over-indulgence are a good thing.

Best of luck!