Apparently we in the Western world put on more weight over the month of December than we do during the rest of the entire year.
We start eating festive food at the beginning of December, enjoying mince pies and chocolates, cheeses and nuts and several meals out and festive parties.
Food has been part of celebrations for centuries and is a wonderful way of enjoying our time with family and friends as we invite and are invited into homes, to office parties and various functions. We celebrate with our immediate family and over the festive season this is more than one special meal. This is a marathon of eating events.
How can we participate fully in all these wonderful events, really feel part of the celebrations and prevent ourselves from undoing all our good work to reach our weight loss goal over the year?
There are several hints and tips that I am going to share with you to help you enjoy the festive season AND maintain your current weight. Take and adapt the following to make them work for you.
We start eating festive food at the beginning of December, enjoying mince pies and chocolates, cheeses and nuts and several meals out and festive parties.
Food has been part of celebrations for centuries and is a wonderful way of enjoying our time with family and friends as we invite and are invited into homes, to office parties and various functions. We celebrate with our immediate family and over the festive season this is more than one special meal. This is a marathon of eating events.
How can we participate fully in all these wonderful events, really feel part of the celebrations and prevent ourselves from undoing all our good work to reach our weight loss goal over the year?
There are several hints and tips that I am going to share with you to help you enjoy the festive season AND maintain your current weight. Take and adapt the following to make them work for you.
- When drinking alcohol always have a glass of water, which can be sparkling with a slice of lemon, between each alcoholic drink.
- Spirits contain more sugar than wines and so they have more calories. If you prefer spirits then add lots of diet soda and ice and keep them down to two or three.
- If drinking wine, choose white wine and add soda water for a spritzer, which is lovely in warm weather and reduces the calories by half.
- Avoid fruit juices and non-diet sodas as both contain lots of sugar.
- If you are going to a party it is best to eat something with protein and long-acting carbohydrates so that you are not hungry when you arrive. We make different food choices when we are hungry preferring high sugar and saturated fat foods over healthier options. Having a chicken sandwich with wholemeal bread will keep us going for several hours and prevent us from diving into the bread and dips or canapes.
- Avoid the canapes. They may look harmless because they are so small but they are laden with calories in the form of saturated fats and sugars. Because they are so small you can find yourself eating several without feeling even a little bit full.
- Have a small portion of the foods you like and make a rule to NEVER go back for seconds. This includes any and all delicious home-made cakes and pastries.
- Enjoy desert by choosing one small portion of your favourite on offering at each event and sticking to one small portion and not having a second helping.
- When you have a mince pie take the top part off and enjoy the rest of the mince pie. You would be amazed at how many calories you have just saved.
- Parsnips have more sugar in them than any other vegetable we eat so enjoy roasted carrots and sweet potatoes instead. If only white potatoes are available stick to one small one and top up your plate with green vegetables and meat or fish.
- Sauces and chutneys are usually busting with saturated fat and/or sugar so only have a very little to add to your meals.
- Nuts contain Vitamin D and essential fats and we only need a very small amount to meet our daily requirement and we don't need the added salt and fat that comes with the roasted salted variety. Have a few, nibble slowly and remember the golden rule about not going back for seconds.
- Dried fruit is a condensed from of sugar so a little goes a long way. Candied fruit has even more sugar so if possible avoid it, and if you choose to have some remember to have one little piece and use the golden rule of not going back for a second piece.
- In maintaining your weight you will be one of the few this festive season so well done. This may not be the best month to continue to loose weight and choosing to maintain it instead of loosing any allows you to enjoy the festive season without having to re-loose weight in the New Year.
As you can see just a few simple hints and tips can make a big difference in the number of calories you successfully avoid whilst still having fun with family and friends and enjoying some favourite festive foods in the coming month.
Sarah
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