Stay Slim Over Christmas

Christmas can be fun but stressful, people may have less time for themselves and this is a time when you may be tempted to forget the diet, but this could make you feel rotten and resentful in the longer run. Having a non-weight loss day on Christmas day is of course perfectly understandable. But don’t go absolutely mad – there are traditional Christmas day foods that are very healthy and low in calories.

• Keep up with physical activity; this helps to tone and keep the metabolic rate going and also helps fight the extra stresses that this time of year brings. It’s not necessary to schedule a solid block of exercise, three 10-minute ‘mini-workouts’ throughout the day are just as good as half an hour of exercise.
• A common temptation for dieters is to forget about their diet plans altogether after a minor glitch. Falling off the bandwagon is a good opportunity to get right back to the diet. Don’t be tempted just to give it all up!
• Is there really a need to buy all those Christmas food extras and have them in the house? If you do want these traditional extras for guests, you should hide them well away from your own appetite.
• Don’t be tempted to skip meals to make up for previous or future overindulgence! This will only make the eating pattern out of balance, and may even result in hunger and temptation to eat more or the wrong foods.
• Everyone should give themselves ‘me’ time and some space at this time of year. Treating yourself doesn’t have to involve food. What about a manicure, a long hot bath or a chat to a friend?
• Christmas doesn’t have to be alcohol free, but don’t forget that alcoholic drinks are quite calorific.
• On Christmas Day you can indulge in these: turkey meat (no skin), sprouts, carrots, smoked salmon and scrambled egg without too much added fat, fruit with just a few nuts. Don’t overindulge in the roasties, Christmas pudding and mince pies – just have a little taster of these.