Posted on December 10, 2019 by Kate Halsall

It’s inevitable…with Christmas comes indulgence.

Parties, social events and Mum’s cooking makes it difficult to maintain bodyweight at this time of year. Before you switch off, I’m not going to get all sanctimonious and tell you to “keep your eyes on the prize” or “avoid the choccies and booze at all costs”. Heck no. The aim here is to give you a few practical tips to help you enjoy the Christmas goodies but avoid too much unwanted fat gain.

With a bit of common sense and a sprinkle of science you can eat and drink what everyone else is having without having to worry too much about gaining that festive weight.

1) 👉Abstain during the day, indulge at night

By not eating or under-eating earlier in the day you’ll have calories ‘in the bank’ for a filling meal packed with carbs and goodies in the evening. This is also known as intermittent fasting.

Try skipping breakfast and having a small protein and veggie based meal for lunch and leave the majority of your calories for a feast and a couple of drinks at night.

Offsetting your intake in this way will mean your calorie intake for the day isn’t too excessive and will stave off unwanted fat gain.

2) 👉Have a pre-meal meal

If you’re heading out to a Christmas party where there will be snacks galore, have a protein and veg meal an hour before.

Eating a chicken breast and a load of broccoli 60 minutes before heading out to a party will satiate you and ensure you’re not absolutely starving when you arrive at the snack laden gathering.

Feeling moderately full before you get in these situations means you’ll be way more likely to GRAZE on the tasty stuff rather than stuff your face.

3) 👉Choose your drinks wisely…

If you’re heading out for Christmas drinks, try to choose lower calorie options.

Beer, lager and wine tend to be the highest calorie options.

A pint of lager will be about 250kcal, where as a double gin and tonic will be about 110kcal. Half the calories and roughly the same amount of alcohol.

No need to eliminate beer or wine all together though…switching to a gin and slim after two of your favourite drinks will make a massive difference.

4) 👉Keep training!

The temptation is to glue yourself to the couch for a few weeks and wait around for the New Year to get back into exercise.

Keep doing something! Scale back your expectations slightly so you don’t put yourself under too much pressure…if you’re accustomed to four gym visits per week, scale this back to two gym workouts and a home workout over the Christmas break.

This way you’ll be ticking the training box and starting the New Year feeling fit and strong.

5) 👉Remember you’re a grown up…

It’s Christmas. Eat what you fancy.

Enjoy your food and drink.

Don’t be a pig about it.

Don’t feel guilty.