10 Tips to Master Your Holiday Nutrition Without Sacrificing Fun
The silly season is upon us which probably means your social calendar is bursting at the seams.
Even if you’re a little bit of a hermit, you will likely have Christmas plans that revolve entirely around a lot of calorie-dense foods.
So, here’s a few tips and tricks that will help you navigate your nutrition this silly season.
Tip 1: Make sure your Nutrition Strategy is Intentional
Whatever you choose, be intentional about your goals. Do you want to ‘YOLO’ it and put yourself in a food coma? Do you want to maintain your weight? Or do you want to keep trying to lose weight over the Christmas period?
For my clients at Christmas as a minimum I will give them all the option to take the week off and eat at higher calories, but if they want to go all out that week that is up to them because fun is important too.
Whatever goal you choose, own your choice so you don’t end up feeling bad about the results you didn’t get and then go totally off the rails.
Therefore:
If you are the type of person who likes to go all out in the Christmas period, that’s totally fine, just accept that you may gain a little fat and weight in the process.
If you’re more inclined to aim to maintain your weight then mentally accept that you won’t lose any weight and be ok with that.
If you’re more inclined to stay strong and stay dieting then, accept that you may not be able to fully immerse yourself in your overflowing social calendar and you will need to apply some restraint.
Just choose a goal that is realistic and execute it!
Don’t intend to lose weight and then find yourself being the person who goes wild. When you choose something out of making a decision for yourself you are more willing to accept what comes afterwards.
If you make decisions based on emotion and eat the whole pudding when you intended to be in a dieting phase, you’ll feel bad about yourself and this will spiral into an all out binge and then you will feel worse about yourself and probably eat even more (I know this as I have been that person before myself years ago when I was overweight).
Tip 2: What you do between January-November matters more than what you do in December-January
Everyone seems to lose their minds in December. People worry if they overeat a day here and there and then the whole ‘New Year, New Me’ promises begin (this is really just an exaggerated version of ‘I’ll start on Monday’).
Remember – consistent actions create consistent results.
You won’t undo 11 months of hard work in a few days.
Don’t get so caught up with a few weeks of the year, worry more about what you do for the other 50 weeks of the year.
Tip 3: You can have your Pudding and Eat it Too!
For example if you did go crazy on two days of eating, pull it back the next day few days and you can balance out those two days without too much damage. With a solid strategy around your eating you can eat whatever you want to, just like my clients do, whilst losing weight and enjoying life.
Tip 4: Consider Fasting
Some people find fasting beneficial hence why I have added it in, it pains me to add it in as I’d never do it but I know some people like it (this is not for me personally as if I don’t eat every 3-4 hours I am very sad indeed - lol).
Decreasing your eating window from 12-8pm can help decrease the overall energy you consume throughout the day.
Fasting isn’t magic, it’s a tool you can utilise to decrease the amount of food you eat.
Tip 5: Prioritise Protein and Vegetables before Fun Foods
Christmas is all about the fun foods. If you turn down your Gran’s signature Christmas pudding, you probably won’t be doing yourself any favours, and let’s be real – Gran’s Christmas pudding is the sh*t!
Try having a serving of protein and vegetables with each meal to increase satiety aka how full you are. Maybe that way you won’t need the whole pudding if you’re feeling full from loading up on protein and fibre, but if you do want the whole pudding, be happy and ok with the choice you have made.
Tip 6: Stay Hydrated
Fun fact, we often confuse thirst for hunger. Need I say more?
Water is your ally during the holidays. Not only does it keep you hydrated, but it can also help control your appetite. Drink water before and during meals to stay mindful of your hunger levels.
Tip 7: Enjoy a Few Glasses of Wine (or drink of choice) but maybe don’t drink the whole bottle
Alcohol is great at one thing – altering our ability to make rational choices. You might have the best of intentions to do X, Y and Z but your perception gets a little distorted when you are looking down the barrel of a few empty wine bottles.
Also remember that alcohol contains quite a lot of calories. On average a pint of beer/large glass of wine is the same calorie content as a chocolate bar and hopefully you wouldn’t eat 8 chocolate bars and expect not to put on weight right?
Add on top of that hangover foods the next day and you have a very high calorie combination indeed…
Tip 8: Stay Active With Some Walks
Get yourself out for a walk with the family in the morning. This will help you to feel less sluggish after a big day of eating and drinking. Also walking is seriously underrated. It’s low impact aka joint friendly and most people can do it.
Tip 9: Remember that All-Or-Nothing Gets You All-Or Nothing
If you find yourself overeating or having one too many drinks for a few days in a row, that’s cool. Just make good choices the next day and the day after that until you feel more like yourself.
Don’t let a few days turn into a few weeks or a few months. Consistency is key!
Tip 10: Forgive and Move On:
If you do indulge more than planned, don't let guilt take over.
Acknowledge that celebrations are part of life, and a few days of indulgence won't undo all of your hard work.
Get back on track with your healthy eating habits as soon as you can.
In Conclusion
Enjoy yourself! We rarely get a moment to be present with our loved ones.
We often put SO much focus on food during the holidays and forget that this season is about coming together with the ones you love most to connect and celebrate the year that was, and the year that is to come.
Finally, I just want to wish you a Merry Christmas!
Thank you for reading my blogs each week, I put a lot of effort into putting out good content to help people so your support means the world to me.
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By us working together, I can simplify and strategically plan your weight loss journey for you without you having to give up your favourite foods or do endless cardio to get results that last.
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