“Christmas time, mistletoe and wine”… and mince pies, Christmas pudding, chocolates, Christmas cake, mulled wine; we could go on. With daily opportunities to tuck into tubs of Celebrations, Roses and mince pies it’s not surprising that come the New Year many of us struggle to fit into our jeans.
The average person can easily make their way through 6,000 calories on Christmas day. But this isn’t what causes Christmas weight gain. We will only gain weight if we consistently overeat. So in other words if your Christmas nibbling starts on the 1st December and doesn’t end until the 31st then you should expect to gain weight. Gaining 1lb of fat is as easy as eating around 70 chocolates from your favourite chocolate tin – that might sound a lot, but a couple of handfuls every day soon adds up!
At Hustle we don’t believe that people should aim to lose weight over Christmas, however weight maintenance is a very achievable goal.
So while you shouldn’t feel guilty about enjoying a little indulgence over Christmas, here are our top tips to ensure that only thing that gets really stuffed this Christmas is the turkey!
Love it or leave it
There is nothing like avoiding every bit of party food to bring on the urge to give up your whole diet and splurge. Our advice: eat what you really LOVE and not just what you like.
Remember the supermarkets are only closed for 1 day
How often have you seen shopping trollies loaded with tins of biscuits and boxes of sweets, people stocking up as if they are expecting a famine. The shops will be open on Boxing Day so you don’t need to buy more than you need ‘just in case’ If you are having guests over for one day at Christmas, buy just what you need for that day, otherwise who will end up eating the leftover goodies?
Get rid of any edible presents
People love to give gifts at Christmas and many of these gifts are edible! Who doesn’t enjoy receiving a box of Roses or Ferrero Rocher? The problem lies in our attempt to eat ALL of the edible presents before it is time to take down the tree. Enjoy edible gifts in moderation, and don’t overeat simply because the food is available.
Office politics
Practice saying no. Phrases such as ‘no thank you, I’m stuffed’ or “it looks amazing but I am full”
will leave you feeling in control without offending anyone else.
Stay mindful
Keep chocolate wrappers as evidence. Having the empty wrappers on your desk at work or kitchen table will remind you how many you’ve eaten and may stop you from going back for another handful (or two!).
Take some time out
There is nothing like getting stressed to send many of us to the biscuit tin or mulled wine. Set some time aside to relax – have a long bath, practice meditation or even just take time out from the stress of Christmas shopping and present wrapping with a cup of coffee and a book.
Stay active
Exercise helps increase metabolism and maintain your weight. It also boosts the release of endorphins (feel good hormones) which may be required in abundance to prevent family arguments!
Bottoms down
Calories in alcohol also count so try and be sensible with the amount you drink in the run up to Christmas. A really good tip is to avoiding letting anyone else refill your glass before it is empty as this makes it very hard to keep track of how much you have actually drunk.
We hope that this has helped, keep your eyes peeled for our Christmas survival guide where we focus on the big day itself!
As always, if you want any help or advice please complete the contact form below or click here to get started and we would be happy to help!