5 Tips to Avoid The Holiday Weight Gain

Christmas is coming around fast and for most of us it is a time to enjoy extravagant food and drinks with our family and friends. While we encourage you to enjoy the celebrations, overindulging is very common and unfortunately a time when significant weight gain can occur.

To save you working twice come January it's important to plan and prepare. That's why we have come up with 5 easy tips that mean you can enjoy the festive season without packing on the kilos.

1. The Main event

It can be easy to get swept up in the never-ending food on rotation leading to overeating without realising if you are actually full or hungry. To prevent mindlessly eating all day, we suggest keeping the grazing to a minimum and focus more on the main meal of either lunch or dinner. Bring a plate of healthy food for the main event and stop at one or two snacks!

2. Hydrate

Do you find yourself indulging in one too many celebratory drink over the festive season? You're not alone. The importance of hydration can be so easy to forget with the endless supply of champagne and soft drinks. Make sure you are alternating each alcoholic beverage with a glass of water and if it is a hot day as it usually is on an Aussie Christmas then double your water intake! If you're craving a cocktail remember to count those liquid calories. A mixed drink, like a daiquiri or margarita, can have 500 calories per glass.

3. Slow down

If you are the type of person that demolishes a meal in 5 minutes, Christmas is a time to slow down. Eating quickly leads to poor digestion, increased weight and lower satisfaction. It takes your mind half an hour to realise its full, so slowing down keeps you aware of how much you're eating. Savour every minute of your meal before you rush to the Pavlova! 

4. Use a smaller plate

With all the different foods brought to Christmas lunch, people tend to consume larger portions from big plates, which may lead to overeating. Thus, a smaller plate is an easy way to control portions. If you serve your own plate you have control of the portion size of your meal!

5. Balance

 

Remember, Christmas is only one day, not two weeks! It is okay to indulge and enjoy yourself. Try and plan some healthy meals and snacks for the week leading up to Christmas, so that Christmas eve through to Boxing day you can enjoy yourself without the guilt and can avoid significant weight gain by overindulging all week long. Most importantly, enjoy your time off!