Nutritionist Megan Crockart’s tips to get you through the silly season without packing on the pounds:
- Christmas/New Year in Australia has a focus on drinking alcohol. Think about Organic and/or preservative free wines to make it that little tiny bit healthier (preservative free wine can often help avoid that nasty headache). Also many people are intolerant to wheat/gluten and still drink beer that doesn’t agree with them. Consider a gluten free beer instead – there are now more on the market. Consider vodka, lime and soda for a lower calorie beverage and always make sure you drink a glass of water between each alcoholic beverage. Or fill your glass first with fruit, that way there will be less space for alcohol…then eat all the fruit before your next drink. But even better for your health is reducing or avoiding alcohol completely. Click here for a refreshing mocktail recipe.
- Berries and stone fruit will be making a come-back in the summer months as that is their season! Why not eat these for a sweet treat instead of other sweet goodies.
- Don’t go crazy feeling you need to eat everything at the work Christmas party or when you are at a party, just have a tiny bit of what’s on offer or only go for the food that really takes your fancy and enjoy every moment of the indulgence. Avoid the deep fried options and try to stick to healthier options or just don’t eat as much as you normally would. Enjoy a little of what you fancy…the key word is “little” – no pigging out!
- Before going to events/parties eat a healthy meal beforehand so you won’t be as tempted to eat as much of the party food. On Christmas day eat a small healthy meal like a salad or soup before eating Christmas lunch/dinner – that way you will be too full to overindulge.
- Big tip – Don’t stand near the food table at a party!! It makes it very hard not to be continually tempted. Get a plate of the things you would like the most and walk away!
- Make sure you still do regular exercise – utilise the longer amount of daylight and go for a walk before it gets dark or get up early when the sun rises to kick start your day.
- Find ways to burn a few extra calories every day from now until Christmas, that way you will be able to eat a little more guilt free because you would have burned them off in advance.
- Christmas weight loss challenge – while others are gaining weight this Christmas why not set yourself the challenge to lose weight instead!
- On Christmas day Work it off – don’t sleep it off! Play outside with kids or just do something active rather than taking a nap or chilling out in front of the TV.
- There are many recipes out there for healthier Christmas treats eg truffles etc, so do some research to find out what healthier options you can find that are still yummy. Look out for things like natural food colourings and sprinkles. There is a healthy but extremely delicious raw cake recipe if you click here.
If you do overindulge this Christmas, Megan is running 2 health challenges from 28 January 2013. Book in for either 8 week weight loss challenge or 4 week detox challenge. Click here for more information.