The simple 10-step eating plan to enjoy your Christmas treats WITHOUT overindulging
On average, people gain between one and five pounds over the Christmas period
WITH just over a week to go until Christmas Day it is safe to say that you've already started overindulging on the food.
This time of year it is almost impossible to stick to a healthy eating plan - and us Brits love using the festive season as an excuse to have a little bit too much food.
But that means Christmas is also a time of splurging on extra fat, sugar, calories and all other things that aren't good for you.
In fact, on average people gain between one and five pounds over the Christmas period.
And, you only need to take in 500 additional calories a day over over five weeks to see the scales tip like that.
But don’t despair, being healthy this festive season doesn’t mean that you have to hang up your Santa hat and compromise on fun.
Dietitian Helen Bond has shared her top tips for enjoying Christmas a healthier way.
1. Start with breakfast
You've heard it time and time again - breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
"It’s easy to miss this important meal, or give in and indulge in fatty croissants to ease that Christmas party hangover," Helen said.
"But eating a good breakfast will help kick-start your metabolism and keep you feeling full, making it easier to ignore the inevitable chocolates lying around."
2. Make a healthy advent calendar
You may think they are small, but those tiny chocolates add up.
"Even big kids love opening those little advent calendar doors – but, enjoying 25 days of chocolatey goodness will do your waistline no favours," Helen said.
"A little chocolate Christmas character provides around 26 calories, 1.5g fat, 2.8g sugar - even more if they are truffle or alcoholic filled – that’s an extra 650 calories, 37.5g fat and 70g
sugar over 25 days.
"Why not get creative with your countdown to Christmas, so you’ve got a daily treat, without the daily guilt."
3. Love your seasonal fruit and veg
Helen said: "With the abundance of festive food, it can be easy to forget the basics of eating healthily and achieving the (at least) 5-a- day recommendation.
"I like to pile the veg on my plate first, rather than last."
4. Try to exercise
It's easy to forget to get your daily dose of exercise during the festive season, after all we are all so busy.
Helen said: "However well you plan, life is going to get hectic over the festive period, so schedule your 2.5 hours of moderate intensity exercise into your week now.
"Exercise is also a fabulous stress buster, as it releases endorphins, making you feel happier and calmer."
5. Don't be tempted to skip meals
You may think you are eating less but you are doing your body more damage.
"If you’re going to the office party straight after work, or you’ve got a dinner date with friends, don’t ditch lunch for fear of overdoing your daily calorie intake.
"You’ll be famished and hungry people tend to make bad food decisions."
6. Don't burn the candles at both ends
No matter how busy you are it is important to remember you need a good night's sleep every night.
"Burning the festive candle at both ends, with parties during the week and weekend hosting duties, can also affect your waistline," Helen added.
"Too little sleep can reduce the level of the appetite-controlling hormone leptin and increase the hormone ghrelin, telling the brain you need to eat – and not always the right healthy food choices."
7. Save calories in your tea
If you add sugar to your tea or coffee you are already consuming more calories than you need to.
Helen said: "Cut cutting down on the 'white stuff' is a tall order, especially around Christmas.
"It appears in so many of the traditional festive favourites, that it’s near impossible to keep track of how much you’re eating.
"An easy win is to rethink your tea breaks; instead of adding sugar to your tea, swap to a low-calorie sweetener, like Splenda.
"If you drink four cups of tea a day with two teaspoons of sugar in each cup - that adds up to 128 calories.
"Your sweet tea also tots up to nearly one 1kg bag of sugar over the 25 days of December and 3,200 calories."
8. Swap sweet treats
You are allowed your sweet treats, but sometimes you should opt for something healthier.
"The constant supply of treats from guests and salty savoury snacks at work can be too tempting to avoid," Helen said.
"Keep healthier seasonal snacks, like clementines, to hand.
"A medium clementine has just 25 calories and will provide you 31 per cent of your daily needs for immune boosting vitamin C and one gram of gut healthy fibre."
9. Don't get trapped by the buffet
There are too many things to temp you on a buffet, so chose wisely.
"Faced with a buffet, resist the temptation to start filling your plate at one end of the table and continuing to add to it until you reach the other," said Helen.
"Before you pick up the plate - and always take the smallest one - pause for a moment and then prioritise healthy choices like smoked salmon, slices of lean ham and vegetable crudités.
"Now, step away."
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10. Know your portion sizes
Keeping to a healthy portion size can make all the difference this Christmas.
Helen added: "Most of us are over-generous with serving sizes at Christmas and it’s a fact that the bigger your tableware, the more you’ll fill it.
"Research shows that simply downsizing from a 12 to 10-inch plate could help you eat roughly 22 per cent fewer calories, and you’ll not feel like you are missing out."
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